Who are you, really?
by Nicia
Summary: ALL HUMAN. Lissa, the daughter of an unknown millionaire. Rose, adopted at birth has trained all her life to protect Lissa. In a world with mistrust, greed and backstabbing on every corner, can Rose and Lissa survive? Rated M for a reason. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**WARNING. This story is rated M/M+. It will contain sexual references and graphic scenes; so I advise you not to read it unless you feel that you are mature and old enough. There will be fights and deaths and M scenes will**** not**** be marked or highlighted. Thank you and I hope you enjoy the story. Please review and let me know what you think of it :):):) Denicia xx**

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A bit of back story to help you understand this story. This story is ALL HUMAN.

Lissa is the daughter of an unknown millionaire and Rose, adopted by their family at birth; has trained all of her life to protect Lissa from those agencies in the world that want her, her name and her money. After all, riches and wealth is what every man wants for himself. In a world filled with mistrust, greed and backstabbing on every corner, can Rose and Lissa survive?

Lissa's family is dead. They went out for a picnic one day while Rose and Lissa were shopping. They never made it back home. The girls were aged 16. Since then they've continued to live under the radar. Rose completed all of her training and lives with Lissa and her boyfriend Christian in one of the states somewhere in America.

Christian has, of course, been checked and screened to ensure that he isn't a double agent simply trying to break them apart from the inside. Very few people make it into their circle of trust and the few that do, very rarely make it out alive. Life has made Rose hard and resilient; teaching her to trust nobody except Lissa; and now Christian. She would willingly give her life for Lissa's. She has trained all her life to be ready to do that, and yet, without the training she would do it anyway because Lissa is her best friend. She can kill someone twice her size in any number of ways in less than six seconds; and incapacitate them in three. Anyone half of her size can be taken out even more quickly.

She is deadly, and she is brutal. But, the tough exterior conceals a warm heart and kind soul; as Lissa would tell you. She is simply a hard shell because she has seen and wielded far too much death in her short eighteen years; and she cannot allow herself to allow Lissa to become another. The deaths have been brought about by her, to protect Lissa from the main agency who wants her, who unoriginally call themselves 'The Academy'.

But, we digress. As we said, these three characters are only eighteen years old. In fact, only two days ago did Rose finally turn eighteen. And that brings us to the opening of their tale.

_Put your hands on my waistline  
Want your skin up against mine  
Move my hips to the bass line  
Let me get mine you get yours.  
Hang a please don't disturb sign  
Put my back into a slow grind  
Running chills up and down my spine  
Let me get mine you get yours_

_So come on and freak my body we can get nasty, naughty  
All night a private party  
Gotta hit that spot just right  
Work me like a 9 to 5_

_It ain't about the kissin`and huggin`cause this is a physical lovin`_  
_Straight sweatin`, our bodies are rubbin`_  
_Gotta hit that spot just right work me like a 9 to 5_

_Get mine, get yours - Christina Aguilera._

Rose POV.

The club is packed full to the brim with gyrating sweaty bodies grinding against each other to the heavy bass pouring out of the sound system. In fact, a minute ago, I had been one of them; crushed up next to some random guy and enjoying the freedom that came from knowing that for this one night; I was simply an eighteen year old girl free to dance and enjoy her long awaited and overdue birthday party. I knew that Lissa was safe, the 'link' told me that. We don't know exactly what it was; only that ever since we were babies, we've been able to share things through our minds. I say that we're simply freaks of nature or the next stage in human evolution; Lissa thinks that because we're such close friends; hell we're almost sisters, that it's just developed from our closeness. Like sympathy pains when you're pregnant or some crap like that. Whatever it is, I don't care. All I know is that it's helped us out in some pretty tight spots and allows me to keep an eye on Lissa and do my job, even when I can't physically keep an eye on her.

But tonight, I don't need to do my job. Well, I don't need to be quite as focused. Christian is with Lissa, probably tucked away in some dark corner of the club kissing and groping each other; letting their hormones run free and wild, so I know she's in good hands. Like me, he'd die before he let anyone harm her.

But the real reason that I'm not one of those excited horny bodies anymore is because of _him_. Although he is standing across the room by the bar, at this point in time I have a clear view of him. Tall; 6,6 maybe even 6 feet 7 inches tall. Broad, strong looking shoulders that taper in to a narrow yet muscled chest and waist. I can see from the tightness of his top that he works out and takes good care of himself; and boy, has it paid off. Continuing down his body I see that he has long, long legs; and I'd bet that they match his body perfectly. Muscled and defined. I cannot see properly, but I would bet everything I owned that he has big feet; and you know what they say about big feet. My eyes flick to the area slightly below the waistband of his trousers, and remembering where I am, my gaze flicks up to see if he has caught me looking.

His gaze is trained firmly on my face, and once I catch his line of sight; one of his eyebrows raises as if to ask 'see something you like?' I blush slightly at being caught out, and one corner of his mouth twitches slightly, as if he is fighting a smile. I drop my gaze and carry on with my silent inventory, despite my heart thumping wildly in my chest. My gaze travels across the broad expanse of his chest, taking in the way that his shirt hugs him in all the right places; hinting at the muscled glory I'm sure is concealed underneath. His arms, like the rest of his body are long, strong and sturdy looking. Biceps the size of grapefruits lead down to well-built forearms; that lead to elegant hands. Long, dexterous fingers for playing the piano, or playing with my… I stop that train of thought immediately. Hands that could probably pack one hell of a punch. Hands that, strangely; seem like they could be gentle or fierce.

And finally, I let my gaze travel up to his face. I avoid his eyes; remembering the way his gaze burnt into mine the last time. A strong jaw, which is something to always look for in a man. A man's jaw can either make or break the attraction. To me, a strong jaw is a sign of a strong mind; a real man. My stomach curls with the thought of what this man could do to someone like me. Would he be able to handle me, or would he break? I forget my silent musings and drink in the rest of his features. Brown, shoulder length hair pulled back into a ponytail at the base of his neck. I would say that it's sandy, or hazel; but it's not. It seems almost like a chestnut brown, but the colour is deeper, richer; and under the poor lighting it is impossible to be sure. His cheekbones are defined and like his jaw, make his face strong. It is the same with his nose.

And finally, I let my gaze meet his.

I was right to save this for last. His eyes burn into mine with an intensity that I thought I had imagined. Chocolate brown, they melt the last of my resistance and inhibitions. My young, inexperienced body burns with the intensity of that gaze. I want to cry out, but I am frozen into place with a slight blush staining my cheeks once more. And this time, when my gaze meets his, he picks up the beer that has been beside him at the bar the whole time and starts to make his way over towards me. He gracefully steps around couples performing moves that I'm sure are only one step away from indecent exposure, all the while keeping his gaze locked with mine.

Anticipation curls my stomach again as I fantasise all the dirty things that are running through my head right now. Things about him and me. But on the other hand, I want to run far, far away before he can get to me; nerves and anxiety making an appearance for the first time in years. But his gaze keeps me pinned. The two sides war within me. One part wants him to hurry and get over here so I can drag his mouth to mine and take him right here on the dance floor. The hormones within me rage and pound, giving me feelings in places that have lain dormant for the past eighteen years. The other part, the part that I have locked away; ever since I gave my vow to put Lissa's life above my own, warns me to leave now while I have the chance. That is the side of reason. The side I shall trust.

Racking my brains desperately, I glance at my watch. Only 11:30pm. Lissa and won't want to leave yet. We've only been at the club for an hour. I'll have to grab her and make something up. If she finds out why I really want to leave, she'll refuse, insisting that I stay and talk to him. Ever since she met Christian and I deemed him to be trustworthy enough to keep around, she's been on a mission to find me a man. I do not need a man. I need to keep her safe. I look up to check how close he is, only to find that he has disappeared.

Perhaps he wasn't looking at me after all.

I sigh in relief, and spin ready to head to the bar at the other end of the room and get myself a stiff drink. Instead, I bump into a strong chest, and almost fall backwards from the impact. Oh no.

I glance upwards and meet warm brown eyes; which hold so many emotions. Right now, the primary one is concern seeing as I have nearly fallen. My skin burns from his touch, where his hand has caught my arm to steady me. His fingers are soft and smooth, sending sparks of electricity through my body. And then he speaks. A gentle voice, with the hint of an accent. Russian maybe? I have always been particularly weak when it comes to men with accents. That coupled with his serious gaze is all it takes. My knees have turned to jelly.

"I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

I am completely gone.

Dimitri POV.

_When you walk (when you walk) when you talk (when you talk)  
I get the tingle, I wanna mingle, that's what I want (that's what I want)  
And listen baby don't try to debate it.. try to make you understand you're on my radar (on my radar) on my radar (on my radar)  
On my radar (got you on my) radar (got you on my) radar (got you on my) RADAR_

_Interesting sense of style_  
_Ten million dollar smile_  
_Think I can't handle that_  
_Animal in the sack_  
_His eyes see right to my soul_  
_I surrender self-control_  
_Catch me looking again_  
_Falling right into my plan.._

_Hey baby whether it's now or later (I've got you)  
you can't shake me (no)  
cuz I got you on my radar  
Whether you like it or not, it ain't gonna stop  
cuz I got you on my radar (I've got you)  
cuz I got you on my radar_

_Radar - Britney Spears_

She is more beautiful than the reports state. She is devastatingly beautiful. A train wreck just waiting to happen. And I have been assigned to her. I have never regretted a case more. Take out a couple of corrupt government officials? Sure, no problem. But to do this. To do something, which I know by doing, will break this young girls heart… Now that I have finally seen her, I cannot calm my thoughts.

But I have to. As Petrov keeps reminding me through the irritating earpiece that keeps me in contact with the rest of the team, I was assigned to this. Find Rosemarie Hathaway. Get inside. Get Miss. Dragomir and bring her back to The Academy where she can be protected and safe. Get out. Do this by any means possible.

Plain and simple. But not so simple once you get close. I saw when she first entered the club. Watched as she hovered protectively near to Miss. Dragomir, despite being told several times by her and the boy to leave and enjoy herself. It took her a while, and a few drinks, but eventually she started to relax. Danced, and chatted with a couple of guys who were obviously looking for a good time. And that's when my idea to 'get in' formed. She hadn't noticed me yet, so she wouldn't be suspicious. I needed to act like the rest of the louts in this club. I needed to grab her attention; and keep it. Get in close and stay there.

She was celebrating her eighteenth that had occurred a few days ago. I was twenty four, almost twenty five; but looked younger. Well not younger, but I had aged well. I had been told that I carried a sense of maturity and understanding to go alongside someone twice my age; yet had the looks to play someone years younger. A compliment of sorts.

So I knew I could pull this off. I stayed at the bar, waiting for the right moment. I had told Petrov my idea and she felt that it was good enough, and wouldn't get us into trouble if things went sour. I nursed my beer, watching as she danced continuously with almost every guy that had the guts to come up and ask her. I wondered if, had this been real; would I have had the guts to go and ask her to dance? Or would I have simply remained on the sidelines and watched? I had no answers. But this was a job; and it needed to be put into action sooner rather than later.

Finally, she took a breather as the song changed, and I stood. With my height, I stood out, and she definitely noticed. She catches sight of me and freezes. Because I am watching her, waiting for the right moment to go over I see as she silently takes me in, checking me out. I work out everyday, and it has paid off; delivering me with a muscled body that would put almost any bodybuilder to shame. I see as her gaze travels across my chest and down to my feet before flicking up to my manhood and then to my face.

I have one eyebrow raised in a silent question and she blushes when she sees that I have seen. I almost smile, catching myself just in time. I wonder if she is as naïve as other's that I have met, who seem to believe that the size of a mans feet, or hands, is a reflection of how 'big' he is. Although, in my case it is true; I know with others, the same rule cannot be applied. She drops her gaze, and continues as before, this time regarding my upper body. I know what she will see; so I use this chance to study her, in the same way that she is studying me.

Long, smooth, sleek, beautiful, nearly black with just the right hint of brown, waist length hair. Hair that looked like it would flow through my fingers like silk. Whenever she moved, it swung like a waterfall, and grabbed the attention of almost every man in the place. Aiding her natural seduction. A soft, feminine body. Curvy in all the right places. The ultimate hourglass figure. She reminded me of the lingerie models I'd seen on my sisters magazines when I still lived at home, but she was a million time better. And right then, I felt a pang of longing and sadness. I did not want to do this to this young woman. She had been through more than enough in her life already, would it really be fair for me to add to that list? Indecision flew through me as I carried on my mental assessment.

Strong, defined legs. Tanned, sexy, sensual legs concealed by a thigh length black dress that clung to her body in all the right places and filled me with lust. Wide hips. Hips that would be perfect for having children. Once again, the strange longing welled up inside of me; and with difficulty I pushed it back down. I could not afford to become distracted. A moment to appreciate her great beauty and the fact that everything in me was screaming to take her and hide away somewhere. To do crazy things like leave my job, marry her, have kids and grow old. Where the hell had thoughts like that come from?

Smooth delicate arms, yet they were toned, like her legs; from the years of intense exercise and training. A narrow waist which tapered in from a generous bosom. This woman was a killer, in both nature, appearance and career; and she had dressed to show it. There was no plunging neckline on the dress, or tightness which outlined her breasts, but it was sexy just the same. She knew how to maximise what she had been given, whilst looking classy, not trashy.

My gaze travelled up to her face. Smooth, tanned skin. Defined cheekbones set in a heart shaped face. Cupids bow lips. Soft, pink and kissable. Another pang wracked through my chest with the thought that I would get to kiss those lips; but it would not be real. For her it would be, but not for me. It could not be. Because this was a job.

Until I met her eyes. Hazel brown eyes. Young, yet weary of the world; locked with mine and pinned me in place. I felt as though she could see right through to my soul. Damn this job. Damn it to hell. I had to get to know her. If I did it, I would lose any chances I had of getting to know the real Rose Hathaway and making whatever chance I had work. I needed to talk to her. Hell, I _needed_ her. I pick up the beer that I have held for the last hour; yet when she sees my movement she seems startled, like she wants to run. That can't happen. I feel desperate and so start to push though the crowd more urgently to get there before she can flee.

She keeps my gaze as I continue to make progress towards her, and then glances down at her watch.

No!

I push though more anxiously, but to the side. If she's going to run, perhaps I can cut her off. But she doesn't move; and I use that time to approach her from behind. Suddenly, she spins; catching me off guard and bumps into my chest. She almost topples backwards, and instinctively I reach out to steady her. The moment my hand touches her, fire bolts shoot through my body. It is as if I am being electrocuted, but in a good way.

Her breathing is ragged and erratic, and this close up I can see that her pupils are starting to dilate. Is it possible that she could be feeling the same way I do?

My mind has gone blank. I cannot think of what I should say, now that I am here in front of her. All I can do is stare into her beautiful brown eyes in wonder and awe. And it is at this precise moment that Petrov decides to stick her nose in. "Say something. Engage in conversation Belikov rather than standing around like a gorm. Do something!"

So I say the only words that will grant me a brief reprieve from both women, and perhaps; create a conversation with the beautiful Rosemarie Hathaway.

"I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

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**Please review and let me know what you thought of this!**

**I'm very sorry to any readers of True Love? Or The End? Or Rose, Craig and The Alchemists for not updating regularly. As I said, I have lots and lots of homework because I'm in my final year, but this idea came into my head and has been bugging me for the past few days. So once, I get it all finished and posted, my complete focus will be back on those two stories. I will be trying to write chapters for them, but if my mind isn't in the mood to write them, everything will come out as rubbish. Sorry! Denicia xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**I want to say a massive thank you to; Vampire-Academy 4ever, the 'aonoymous reviewer, rivereq, , laineylane03, vampireacademy101 and Badass Hathaway for adding this story to their alerts or faves list or reviewing this story; thank you so much! xx**

**I really wanted to dedicate this chapter to laineylane03 because she is just amazing and… just amazing with her feedback and reviews and everything. But this chapter is a very rude, so I don't think it would be very appropriate. So please don't think that this chapter relates to her personality in any way because she is a lovely person! **

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_Usually I'm humble, right now I don't choose  
You can leave with me or you could have the blues  
Some call it arrogant, I call it confident  
You decide when you find on what I'm working with_

Damn I know I'm killing you with them legs  
Better yet them thighs  
Matter a fact it's my smile or maybe my eyes  
Boy you a site to see, kind of something like me

_Ego - Beyonce_

Rose POV.

I do not understand what has happened in the last five minutes. I don't even understand how we ended up in one of the dark corners of the club. All I know is that I am kissing Dimitri as fiercely as I can while my hands feel as much of him as possible. I am crushed between his body and the wall, yet it is not close enough. My body is pushed up against his, pulling him closer still; while his hands roam my body. Everywhere he touches leaves a trail of fire. I let out a small moan of need and want as he nibbles gently on my ear. He chuckles softly before trailing kisses down my jaw line, neck and collar bone, before meeting my lips again; capturing them in a fiery passionate kiss.

I thought that the attraction was simply one sided, but he is kissing me as if I am oxygen and he is drowning. His lips crash hungrily to mine, his tongue battling against mine for dominance, and all the while his hands shoot sparks throughout my body. His hands. It is not where they are touching me that is making me respond in this way, rather than the way they are touching me. They trail down my back, across my stomach, up my thighs… strong, loving, lust filled strokes that leave me wanting more.

Finally, I manage to drag my face away from his; and his lips automatically trail back down my neck. Feather light little nips that make my knees go weak once again. How is he making me feel this way? All he did was ask if I was okay and wanted a drink. I had nodded and grinned flirtatiously, before following him through the throngs of dancers. And then my nervousness disappeared, my confidence came back; and with it, my earlier needs for this man. So I had grabbed his hand and changed our direction. He'd looked down surprised, but then grinned and linked his fingers through mine before following me instead.

At one point, it had seemed like he was saying something, but when I looked up; he was alternating between watching me and where we were headed. Once he caught on to my idea; he had pulled me to a stop and asked what my name was. I had answered and asked his in return. Dimitri Belikov. Sexy and mine for tonight. We slipped into the shadows at the edge of the club and before he could say anything, I had wrapped my arms round his neck and brought his lips down to mine. Lust and need had exploded in both of our bodies, making him wrap his long arms round my waist to pull me even closer and his lips kissed me back just as fiercely. Which brought us full circle.

As he trailed his lips down my neck, I tried to pull my thoughts together. I wanted this man; and despite my statements earlier in life; right now I need this man. All of my notions about not needing anyone else and not minding being alone so long as Lissa is safe fly out of my head. I don't care that I don't know him. I don't care that after tonight I will probably never see him again. I don't even care that I never wanted my first time to be a one night stand. Right now I want him and I want to give it all to him.

Another moan slides through my teeth as he bites my shoulder gently. "Do you want to get out of here?"

He smiles and nips my shoulder again before replying. "What did you have in mind?"

"Lots of things." My need makes me bold; so I slide my hands down his chest to the waistband of his pants before rubbing gently over the prominent bulge that has been present ever since we started this heated make out session. He moans into my ear, and presses himself up against my body as much as possible. He kisses me firmly once more, moaning as I continue to rub his excitement. He breaks the kiss and leans his forehead against mine, panting heavily. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"Let's go."

I grin and grab his hand, letting Lissa know through the link that I am leaving. She is disappointed at first; but then catches the end of one of my thoughts concerning Dimitri and immediately brightens up. She promises to be home by one and to miss-call me on my phone every half hour. Of course she'll let Christian know, which means they'll both be extra alert without me around.

…...

As soon as we burst through my bedroom door his lips are on mine. Now that I am finally home, excitement flows through me and my skin feels like a live wire. In the privacy of the house Dimitri loses the last of his inhibitions and he finally, finally touches me in the places that crave it.

His hands slide up my legs to my waist, tracing patterns through the skimpiness of the dress before continuing their ascent. Once they reach my breasts he cups me gently with one hand, whilst the other wraps around my waist to pull me closer. Heat flows through me and I groan against is mouth, yanking him even closer by his hair.

We stumble in the general direction of the bed, never breaking the kiss and as my knees hit the edge I topple backwards, pulling him with me as I fall. Once we are laid down the clothes start to go off. He is already shirtless, having removed it as soon as we entered the house; and the rest of our clothes soon follow. We pause once we are in our underwear, only to check each other out once more.

If I thought he looked good fully clothed; he is mouth wateringly handsome semi-naked and so, if the trend continues; he will be breath taking once his boxers are removed.

But I have no time to take in the sight. With lust filled eyes he drags my mouth back down to his and rolls so that I am on top. I break the kiss and sit up so that I am straddling him, my centre dangerously close to the part of him that was made for this and I rock my hips slightly. He gasps and sits up to join our mouths again, his hands travelling around my chest. He reaches the clasp of my bra and snaps it open; gently moving my arms from around his neck so he can take it all the way off.

And once more, his hands are on my breasts, rubbing small circles around my already aroused nipples. I squirm comfortably, more shocks running through me as he stops kissing me completely and leans down to take on of them into his mouth. Biting and sucking it gently whilst his large hand keeps up the rhythm on my other breast.

My head falls back and a whimper escapes from between my teeth. Despite my complete lack of sexual relations, I want him in me now. The voice of reason has long since left me, and now it is my instincts and hormones that are in control of my body. He seems to hear the slight desperation in the sounds that I make, and stops what he is doing to trail kisses up my chest to my neck and then to my lips before rolling us again so I am positioned underneath him. He sits back to pull off my knickers before leaning back down to meet my mouth.

I lean up eagerly, but he hesitates for a second before pulling away completely. I grab a pillow to cover my exposed body as my face starts to fall, but I gain control before it can show. A deep breath to steady my voice, and I am ready to speak and hear his excuses and rejection. "What's wrong?"

He sighs deeply before answering. "Nothing… just- no, nothing. It's stupid really."

"Well instead of getting me all hot and bothered, before pulling away over 'nothing' why don't you try and come up with a better excuse." My voice is sharper than I meant it to be; but then again, I wasn't expecting to be rejected at such a crucial moment. Did I do something wrong? Was my body unappealing? Why was he having second thoughts? I can see from the strain in his boxers that none of those reasons were valid. So why did he stop?

His gaze is piercing, but understanding and his voice apologetic. "I know that it sounds like a load of rubbish, but… it's too hard to explain." He runs his hands through his hair in a distressed manner, and despite my slight bitterness at being pushed away; I do not want him to feel bad. Maybe it's because of my age and he's feeling guilty. So I try to make my voice softer or gentler at least.

"Why don't you just try and explain it to me? I'm sure it's not really that terrible. Maybe I can help?"

He shakes his head briefly before placing it into his hands. His whole manner gives off the impression of someone who is torn up inside between two choices. Is he fighting the urge to leave or the urge to stay? And for the first time in years, I genuinely care about the feelings of someone other than Lissa. It is a big step, and I can only hope he's worth it. When I first saw him in the club, I wanted sex. Fast, furious, dirty sex and maybe a cup of coffee afterwards; just to get Lissa off my back and to be able to say that I fucked someone, literally fucked them, before I pegged it at the ripe old age of... well whatever age I am when I finally die or get gunned down or knifed whilst protecting Lissa. But now? Now I still have those feelings, but the deeper ones that were buried deep down are beginning to resurface. The ones that want to keep him around indefinitely. But instinct and years of drilling it into my mind to keep everyone at arms length tells me to keep him away. To sate my desires and kick him out with the promise of calling him soon. Then leaving the state. Which should I choose?

My answer is made when I slide my fingers across his back gently as I sit next to him at the edge of the bed. He doesn't move or speak, but I feel the muscles in his back tense under my touch. Keeping my voice gentle I ask. "Is it because of my age?"

He looks up at me startled. "No, no, it's nothing like that. It's just…" He trails off again, at a loss for words.

"Is it because I'm not experienced enough? Or good enough?"

This time he nearly chokes on a laugh. "You're more than good enough." His gaze flicks over my body which is still concealed by the pillow. He speaks through a sigh. "Too good for your own good." He thinks for a second before turning to face me, staring directly into my eyes. "Is this your first time?"

I blush slightly as I nod, and his hand reaches out to stroke my cheek gently where the blush has formed. "Then you should share this with someone you care about; not some random guy you met in a club. You don't want to look back on it with regret."

"No, you don't understand. I want to. I've thought it through and I'm sure. I won't regret it."

He smiles sadly, and strokes my cheek once more. "Trust me, you will. By stopping this now, I'm doing you a favour."

And that is when my hormones choose to kick into overdrive again. They want this man now. They don't care about future regrets or worries. So I chuck the pillow and straddle his lap, pressing my body up against his. And despite all his earlier protests, I find that his hands are gripping my hips to pull me closer. I run my lips along his neck before whispering into his ear. "Trust me, I won't."

And that is all it takes to break whatever self control he had built up in those few minutes. He growls and twists, pressing me into the bed while his lips seek mine out. I grin triumphantly for a few seconds, until his lips meet mine and the fire starts to race through me once more. Before I know it, his boxers have joined the rest of his clothes on the floor and he is hovering above me, his weight balanced on his elbows and those well-built forearms.

The intensity of our kisses picks up and I lean up to try and get closer. But he pulls away once more. "What now?" It sounds as though I am whining, and I am actually pouting; but I cannot believe that he has stooped us twice now. I had been lead to believe all men were sex mad and couldn't get you out of your pants fast enough. Of course, I had to meet the one guy who wanted to stay out of my pants and blab on about respect and saving it for the one you love blah, blah, blah.

But he doesn't stop to try and dissuade me again. Instead he gives me a cheeky grin. "One second." And before I can answer he is leaning over the edge of the bed rifling through his pockets for something.

I realise when he pulls out his wallet, just what that something was. Condoms. "We don't want any accidents to happen. Despite the fact that you're sure you want this, I'm pretty certain you don't want kids yet."

He doesn't wait for me to answer, and I watch curiously as he takes it out of the wrapper to slide it on. This man is an Adonis. Beautiful. And all mine. His muscles stand out; especially across his abdomen. Here they are specially defined and look rock hard, like they've been carved from stone. In fact, Dimitri's entire body reminds me of mine; toned and muscled from a lifetime of extreme training. My eyes trail down his body to his extremely large, and by large I mean his massive manhood. I have no previous encounters to compare him to, but unfortunate slips through the link by Lissa give me images to compare, and they all pale in comparison.

A few seconds pass, and he is ready for me. Finally. My body aches for him, for what should have already happened if not for all the disruptions. He moves back so that his body is positioned over mine; and looks me in the eyes, regarding me seriously before anything can happen. "If I get too rough, or you start to feel uncomfortable make sure you tell me okay. Don't think that you can't change your mind at any time."

I grin and pull his mouth down to mine. "I'll remember. But you don't need to worry. You won't hurt me."

He mumbles something that sounds like "Don't be so sure." But his lips are on mine before I can question him, and I lose my train of thought as he lowers his torso to rest gently against mine.

I gasp and wind my fingers into his hair as a small thrill of excitement runs through me. _This is it. _And ever so gently, I feel as he moves himself, pushing my legs slightly further apart to position himself at my entrance. And then, he finally enters me. He moves slowly, barely entering me before he pulls back out again so as to not hurt me; but I need more. My fingers trail down his spine before digging into his back to let him know that I can handle it. Lying underneath him, I feel petite and delicate, like he'll be too big for me; but I can try to fit him, and right now I want all of him.

He seems to understand the message I'm delivering because his next thrust is slightly harder and moves in a little deeper. It is uncomfortable, but not in a bad way; more like my body needs time to adjust to the feel of him in such an intimate place. He seems to notice this too, and pauses for a few seconds until he feels that I am ready and he pushes into me again. He pulls back out and thrusts into me again, making me gasp because this time I feel that small _snap_ that tells me I am no longer a virgin. There is pain, like I expected, but it is not as bad as I was told. I freeze for a second, to let it pass and he pauses again, looking me deeply in the eyes to check that I am okay. Once it has dulled away, I smile and nod for him to continue; pulling his face back down.

We kiss, but this time it is sweet and gentle, the perfect compliment to his body rocking against mine, sending small tremors of pleasure through me. Now that the pain is gone, I feel more confident in myself, so try to rock my hips slowly against his. He lets out a low moan and buries his head in the crook of my neck, so I presume that I have done something right. So I try it again, and am rewarded with a harder thrust that makes my back arch with pleasure. Noticing my reaction, he thrusts harder again and again, with me raising my hips to meet him thrust for thrust; both of us groaning in pleasure at the feelings that come with each movement.

The tremors running through me are getting stronger and more intense every time he moves in me, and underneath my fingertips I can feel the muscles in his back tightening. I wrap my legs around his waist to pull him closer, whilst small gasps and moans keep escaping my mouth as he pushes against me; and murmurs things into my ear, his Russian accent becoming more pronounced with each thrust.

Finally, I feel my stomach tightening and he seems to notice it too; because this time, he pulls back till he is almost all the way out of me. My fingers grip at his skin, trying to keep him close; but he kisses my closed eyelids, startling me. Once he has caught my gaze he plunges all the way into me with one strong thrust of his hips, burying himself as deeply as he can.

And that is all it takes for me to reach my first ever orgasm; my walls clenching tightly around him as I moan something intelligible before my body collapses against the bed. Me tightening against him appears to be all he needs to reach his orgasm too; because he growls something Russian against my ear repeatedly, while he moves against my hips a few more times, adding a few more shivers to the aftershocks running through my body before he too collapses against me.

We're both panting heavily; but I cannot stop the smile that dominates my face. After a few seconds he rolls, to move off me; but I keep my legs wrapped round him so that I end up laid against his chest; with him still inside of me. It is strangely peaceful; and Dimitri seems content to just lie here in the afterglow, running his fingers through my hair and trailing them down my spine while my head rests against his chest listening to his heartbeat as it calms and becomes steady. Eventually, I feel my eyelids begin to droop, but I shake my head, struggling to stay awake as I don't want to lose this sense of calm that his presence has brought about.

He notices and chuckles slightly before stroking my face. "Go to sleep Roza."

But I shake my head. "No, I'm not ready yet."

He chuckles again. "Why not?"

And this time, a mischievous smile pops up. "Because I'm not ready to let go of you yet." I sigh happily. "That was amazing. I can't describe it. And I'm not done with you."

H tilts my face up to meet his, looking into my eyes; serious once more. "That was amazing for me too Roza. Perfect. Hell, just thinking about it is making me want to take you again right now to make sure that it was real." As he says this I can feel as he starts to grow hard again inside of me. "But you need to rest. I remember how tiring it is when you have sex for the first time." He draws my face up to his, gently nibbling on my lower lip to grant his tongue entrance to my mouth. We kiss gently for a few minutes, slowly and languidly before it ends on its own and I rest my head against his chest once more.

"Go to sleep Roza."

"But you won't be here when I wake up." My grip tightens on his arm, mentally chiding myself when I realise just how needy I sound.

But he doesn't seem to notice. Instead he kisses my forehead and whispers "I'll still be here. I promise. I told you, I want to take you again. I _need_ to have you again."

And that is all I need to hear so that I can shut my eyes and let sleep claim me.

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**Dimitri's POV next :):):) It was supposed to be a part of this chapter; but I ran out of time to write it :'( I don't think I'll be able to finish it tomorrow, so it'll be up on Friday! xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**And here it is! Thank you so much for the amazing feedback I've been given for this story! So I won't waste any more of your time. Enjoy! Xx**

**Ooh, one more thing. Obvs, some of this is DPOV of the previous chapter; but please don't skip it thinking it's all the same. There are small changes and thoughts in there that explain what Dimitri is thinking etc. And there's a teeny tiny Rose POV at the end. Xx**

**This chapter is for rivereq; a constant reader and reviewer of my stories, thank you so much! Please check out her story on fanfiction, it's blummin amazing! xx**

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_[announcer]  
Meet Stan, twenty-one years old. ('Give me a kiss!')  
After meeting a young girl at a rave party,  
things start getting hot and heavy in an upstairs bedroom.  
Once again, his conscience comes into play... ('Shit!')_

_Eminem – Guilty Conscience._

Dimitri POV.

I watch as Rose's eyes gently drift shut; and continue to stroke through her hair and down her spine as she falls into a deeper sleep. Once I feel her muscles relax fully, I roll over so she's laid against the bed and slide out of her gently. I feel the loss immediately, and it seems as though she does too, even in sleep; because she tightens her arms around my neck. I don't want to leave her side; but I need to think. I can't do that while I'm lying here naked with her in my arms, looking like a goddess and turning me on.

So I wait another minute, humming gently into her ear until she relaxes again enough for me to slip from her embrace. I cover her with the sheets and quilt quickly, not wanting to get distracted by her body; and not wanting her to get cold enough that she wakes up. Then I slip on my boxers and trousers before slipping out of the bedroom door silently.

There are still no lights on in the house apart from the one in the hallway that we switched on; so I know that Miss. Dragomir and her boyfriend haven't yet arrived home. I can call Alberta without getting caught out.

But do I really want to?

If I call and don't get caught I will have to continue with this charade, which will ultimately hurt Rose in the future when she finds out. If I call; telling Alberta that I want nothing more to do with The Academy; there will be two problems. Firstly, I am one of the best operatives out there, and know way too much; so they will not let me go easily. Unless I'm in a body bag. And secondly; I will have to come clean to Rose, beg for forgiveness, and then get killed by her. If I call and get caught, Rose will most likely kill or seriously injure me and disappear with Miss. Dragomir. If I call and don't get caught, then I will have to hurt Rose in the long run.

Either way, Rose will get hurt. Would it be better to end it now and walk away? Make it quick like ripping off a plaster? Or should I push aside my feelings and conscience? This is my job; the reason why I left Russia. It's given my family back home a better life and more stability, especially since Sonya got pregnant, adding to the two children Karolina already has. So now there's only me working properly, with Karolina and mum doing part time work to cover the months when I can't send any money back. Viktoria needs money for her schooling and to go to university next year. Can I give it all up for this young woman who I've only just met?

My heart says yes. Tells me to sod the job and follow the path that can make me happy. That for the first time in years I've actually had sex with someone with true feeling behind it; not just a meaningless fuck because I was bored or horny, or both. To stay with the woman who made me _feel_.

But my head screams at me to ignore my heart. To lock it away and continue like I've been doing. To get the job done with, and dip my wick a few more times while I'm at it; then hand her and Miss. Dragomir over to The Academy and make plans to relocate to the other side of the world if Rose escapes.

I don't know what to do. So I look in all the rooms until I find the kitchen. It is small like the rest of the place, and surprisingly tidy for a flat owned by three teenagers. Though, I suspect that is down to the fact that it is decorated very sparsely; almost as if the inhabitants are afraid to personalise it too much in case they need to leave suddenly. Why waste money on furnishings that you might have to leave at the drop of a hat?

In the kitchen there are two cupboards, and various shelves housing random items. Books, spice jars, plants, games… you name it, it's on there. A small breakfast bar is situated in the middle of the room, with a cooker, fridge freezer and washing machine placed by the far wall. Needing something to calm my mind, I search through the cupboards until I find a small tub of cocoa on the bottom shelf near to the beck. Funnily, there is a small packet of marshmallows there too; and I take a couple of them out too needing the comfort. Once I have made my hot chocolate, I seat myself at the breakfast bar, spinning idly while I run through the possibilities and various endings to this situation over and over again.

My silent musings are interrupted by the sound of my mobile buzzing. Wearily, I fish it out of my pocket and glance at the caller I.D. _Alto._ I cannot stand the man, and have the urge to ignore his call; but he's such a suck up he wouldn't be adverse to running straight to Alberta and whingeing in her ear about how I'm 'resisting contact with the team' or some crap like that. His nose is so far up Alberta's arse its unbelievable; and it irks him that despite the extra years he's worked with her in comparison to my six; she prefers me to him. Ha.

So I answer the call. "What?" My voice is sharp, but I don't care. Alto is rude towards me, so I take every opportunity I can to piss him off. Not addressing him formally gets on his nerves so I tend to do it often.

"Now, now _agent_ Belikov. You know that's no way to address your superiors."

I can hear him applying imaginary quote marks around agent; but at this moment I'm too stressed to put up with his shit. "Whatever Alto. I'm really not in the mood right now. You've actually interrupted me in the middle of my _important _assignment; so if I get caught and shit hits the fan, _you're_ the one who'll take the blame. And the punishment. You know how strict The Academy is. They don't like things going wrong. Now what do you want?"

His voice had definitely lost its bravado at the reminder of what happened to failures; and I felt my heart sink as I remembered the latest one. Mikhail. He'd been assigned to find out if a woman, Sonya Karp I think, had been producing and dealing drugs. If she had, he had to take her out so that the entire operation would fall apart. Instead, over time, he'd fallen in love with her; and when it came down to killing her, he'd backed out. She was killed in a drugs war with another cartel, and he was… dealt with. The Academy got the results they wanted. The drugs war was a lucky break, and her operation did indeed fall apart.

A sharp reminder of why I needed to listen to my head rather than my heart.

"You stopped contact with us at 22:35 hours. It's nearly 00:00 and you haven't updated us. Petrov's worried that you might have gotten yourself into something you can't get yourself out of. Things looked pretty good in the club. I mean, from the cameras it looked like you guys were getting hot and heavy over in the corner; but you know how quickly they can change."

"I'm fine agent Alto. Things are going great over here. Is Petrov there now?"

"Yep. I'll hand you over."

There is a slight rustling, and then I hear Alberta's familiar voice. "What's wrong Dimitri?" I can hear the slight concern in her voice and my heart warms slightly. Alberta is like a second mother to me; and since I became an agent, I have become her surrogate son since she has no children of her own.

But I cannot share my worries with her over the phone. All the conversations are recorded; and though it sounds cowardly, I do not want to be punished simply for my eclectic thoughts. It looks like I'm going to have to ignore my emotions and continue this façade. I can only hope that Rose will end it before she gets hurt.

"The first stage was successful. She was a lot more responsive than we expected, so we can move straight onto stage two. I just wanted to check whether you think that I should wait a little longer, and gain more of her trust; or to initiate stage two as soon as possible in case she changes her mind."

"If it's working well, then I say you should get it done as soon as possible. If you're confident that you don't need more time then you know you have my full support."

My heart sinks. Despite not wanting to end up like Mikhail, I had hoped she would have said to wait, so I would have time to think of a reasonable excuse to be removed from the assignment. "Okay, thanks Alberta. I'll come by to pick up some equipment and things later and to debrief."

"Be careful Dimitri. Rosemarie may seem petite and harmless; but she's a lethal, experienced killer and she will take any course of action necessary to keep Miss. Dragomir safe. Don't underestimate her. We're here if you need us."

I nod even though she cannot see me. "Okay Alberta, I'll remember. I'll see you soon anyway." And with a click she is gone.

I sigh and drop my head into my hands, letting my mind run over the night's events.

*FLASHBACK*

I'd asked if she'd wanted a drink; half of me hoping she'd say yes, the other half hoping she'd say no. A large part of me was also staring at her smooth cupid bow lips, wondering what it would be like to kiss her. How she'd react if I leant down and pressed my lips to hers, a random stranger in the middle of the club. But I'd controlled myself in time to see her nod and catch her flirty grin. Her breathing had calmed, so I turned to lead her to the bar.

We got about halfway there when I felt a small hand slip into mine, I'd looked down in surprise to see Rose had gripped it, and was now leading me. So I'd followed her, unashamedly watching the swing of her hips as she walked; until I had the good idea to look up and see where she was leading me exactly. To one of the darkened, empty corners of the club. Damn, she'd moved a lot faster than I'd anticipated. I needed to let Alberta know why I'd disappear from the visuals before she worried and sent in a team to find me. That would definitely blow my cover.

So I'd tilted my face to the side, to hide my earpiece and gently whispered. "Everything going to plan. Subject has advanced, so I need to break contact via my earpiece. If you need to contact me; my cell and pager will still be on."

I hadn't waited for the reply before pulling it from my ear, not wanting to get caught out; and it was lucky that I hadn't waited because Rose turned to check that I was still following at that point. I'd realised then that even though I'd read her report, she still didn't know anything about me. If we were going to build a 'relationship' of some sort, she should know my name at least. I yanked on her hand to get her to stop, and asked what her name was even though I already knew. The point was to get her to ask what mine was; and she did.

By then, we'd reached the edge of the dance floor to slip into the shadows. Before I had a chance to ask anything else, she'd wrapped her arms round my neck, bringing my lips down to meet hers. Lust and need exploded through my body, covering the disgust that I was doing this for a job; and making me wrap my arms around her small waist to pull her tightly to my chest as my lips tried to kiss her back just as fiercely.

The fire ran through my body, making me trail my fingers over her curves, down her back across her stomach… anywhere except those intimate places that I can tell she wants me to touch. If I touch her there, I won't be able to control myself; and I can tell from my erection that I'm going to have to stop this sooner rather than later. But I cannot stop my natural reaction. This woman is like the oxygen I need to breathe; my body feels starved even though it has only just met her and so I kiss her more hungrily; my lips trailing down her jaw, neck, collar bone and back up to let our tongues battle for dominance. She moaned in pleasure when I nibbled on her ear gently, and I want to hear that sound again; so I do it over and over and over, loving the moans that escape her mouth.

Her hands are touching me everywhere, and God, I want her. This really needs to stop; before I take her right here in this dirty corner of this club; but my body is out of control. So I kiss her again and again, trailing gentle kisses down her neck in an attempt to calm myself. But her smell, her taste, her touch… They are all imprinted into my memory, and it is still not enough. My body doesn't want memories, it wants the real thing; and the real thing is what it shall have.

And again, she moves things forward faster than I would have expected. She moans as I bite her shoulder gently, the lust pounding in my stomach making a painful comeback. "Do you want to get out of here?"

My body rejoices as I smile and nip her shoulder again before replying. "What did you have in mind?"

"Lots of things." She's bold; and slides her tiny, delicate hands down my chest to the waistband of my pants before rubbing gently over the prominent bulge that has been present ever since we started this heated make out session. Fuck. I just grew about a million times harder, if that's possible. I can't help but moan and press my body up against hers as much as possible hoping to relieve some of the tension.

But it doesn't work, so I kiss her once more, moaning as she continues to rub against my _very_ excited excitement. But I still have to check her age. If this ends badly, I don't want her to try and accuse me of underage sex. So I break the kiss and to lean my forehead against hers, both of us panting heavily. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

That's all I need to hear. "Let's go."

She grins and grabs my hand to lead me out. By the time we reach the exit, we are practically running.

…

We kiss and grope in the taxi on the way home; and by the time we reach her flat the driver looks traumatised. It makes me chuckle, and I randomly throw him some notes before running into the flat where Roza is holding the door open. As she leads me through the flat towards what I presume is her bedroom, I unbutton my shirt and let it fall. There's no point in pretending that I've come over for a cup of tea when we both know that isn't the case.

My hands itch to hold her, and as soon as we step into the bedroom, I give in and pull her to me; pressing my lips to hers straight away. Now in the privacy of her room, without the cameras, I her slim waist, tracing patterns through the skimpiness of the dress before they continue their ascent. Once they reach her breasts excitement flows through me, and I cup her gently with one hand, whilst the other wraps around her waist to pulling her closer. She groans against my mouth, yanking me even closer by my hair; and I briefly wonder if this is indeed her first time. The report said that though she shows and interest in male attraction; she always puts Miss. Dragomir first. If that is the case, she is a fast-learner and quick to adapt.

We stumble in the general direction of the bed, still not breaking the kiss and as her knees hit the edge she topples backwards, pulling me down as she falls. Once we are laid down the clothes come off. I am shirtless already; and the rest of our clothes soon follow. We pause once we are in our underwear, only to check each other out once more.

She looks like an Ann Summer's lingerie model. Seductive. Beautiful. Exotic. Curvy in all the right places, lips slightly bruised from the intensity of our kisses. Her hair is tangled from me running my hands through it, and I want to do it again.

All too soon, yet not soon enough, I drag her mouth back down to mine and roll, so that she is on top. She breaks the kiss and sits up so that she is straddling me, core dangerously close to my erection. She rocks her hips slightly and that movement alone is enough to make me shiver and gasp before sitting up to join our mouths again.

I can't wait any longer, and so reach around to the clasp of her bra to snap it open; before gently moving her arms out of the way so I can take it all the way off.

And finally, my hands can touch her bare breasts. I can feel that she is already aroused and so rub small circles around her nipples as she wriggles slightly. I love the reaction that my touch is having on her and lean down to take on of them into my mouth. I make all my movements slow, to keep control as I bite and suck it gently whilst keeping the rhythm on her other breast.

She lets out a small whimper; and that noise tells me that she is ready for me. So I stop teasing and trail kisses up her chest and neck to her lips before rolling us again so she is positioned underneath. I want to feel the heat between her legs, so as quickly as possible, I lean back to pull off her knickers before leaning back down to meet her mouth.

Until my conscience hits me like a sledgehammer. I hesitate, trying to push it aside and continue with what I so desperately need; but it is useless and I pull away completely sitting at the edge of the bed. Shame has filled me, and I cannot bear to look at her; able to imagine the hurt and rejection that is passing across her angel face.

She takes a deep breath before she speaks. "What's wrong?"

I can't help but sigh deeply before answering. "Nothing… just- no, nothing. It's stupid really." It's just that I'm having a change of heart about continuing because I want this to be real. That I'm desperate to find some way to stay with you, without getting killed. That right now I hate my life and could quite gladly shoot myself. The list of 'nothing' is endless.

"Well instead of getting me all hot and bothered, before pulling away over 'nothing' why don't you try and come up with a better excuse." Her voice is sharp, as expected; but I need her to understand.

So I turn to face her, trying to convey my emotion through my eyes. My voice is apologetic and holds a hint of sadness. "I know that it sounds like a load of rubbish, but… it's too hard to explain." I can't tell her, and I don't know how to tell her. I run a hand through my hair in distress, anxious to find the right words

"Why don't you just try and explain it to me? I'm sure it's not really that terrible. Maybe I can help?" Her voice is gentler this time, and I can feel that she's trying to help me, trying to understand.

But her trying to understand won't be enough, and all I can do is shake my head and place it into my hands. I am torn up inside and fighting the urge to just skip the border.

And then.

She slides her fingers across my back gently in what's meant to be a comforting gesture; and I feel the dip in the mattress as she sits next to me at the edge of the bed. I don't move or speak, but I know she can feel the muscles in my back tense under her fingertips. Still keeping her voice gentle she asks. "Is it because of my age?"

That startles me into looking at her and answering. "No, no, it's nothing like that. It's just…" I trail off again, that never really entering my mind. The fact that I am twenty four and she is only just eighteen.

"Is it because I'm not experienced enough? Or good enough?"

This time I almost choke on a laugh. "You're more than good enough." I can't help my gaze from flicking over the body which is concealed by a pillow and sigh as I speak. "Too good for your own good." I think for a second searching for a flash of inspiration that will give me a legitimate excuse to walk away. Then it hits me; and I turn to look her straight in the eye to make sure she doesn't lie "Is this your first time?" I pray inwardly that it is, that secretly; she's one of those girls who wants to share it with 'The One.'

She blushes slightly as she nods, and my hand reaches out on its own accord to stroke her cheek gently where the blush has formed. "Then you should share this with someone you care about; not some random guy you met in a club. You don't want to look back on it with regret." Please, _please_ be one of those girls. Then I can go back to Alberta and say "It didn't work. She changed her mind at the last minute wanting it to be 'special'."

"No, you don't understand. I want to. I've thought it through and I'm sure. I won't regret it." And I can see in her eyes that she really does want to. _Fuck._

I smile sadly, trying to work a smidgen of doubt into her mind; and stroke her cheek once more. "Trust me, you will. By stopping this now, I'm doing you a favour." Why doesn't she get that I really am doing her a favour? I'm saving her heart from getting broken!

But she really doesn't seem to care because she chucks the pillow onto the floor and straddles my lap, pressing her lithe body up against mine. And I cannot control my reaction; my hands gripping her hips to get closer. She runs her lips along my neck before whispering seductively. "Trust me, I won't."

And that is all it takes to break whatever self control I built up in those few minutes. I growls and twists, surprising myself with the speed at which I press her into the bed while my lips seek hers out. She grins triumphantly for a few seconds, the smile being so open and happy that my heart skips a beat. A couple of seconds later, my boxers have joined the pile of clothes on the floor and I am hovering over her; my weight balanced on my forearms so I don't crush her.

The intensity of our kisses picks up and she leans up to try and get closer. But I realise what's missing and pull away once more. "What now?" She actually pouts; but I cannot take this risk. Instead of answering, I flash a cheeky grin. "One second." And leaning over the edge of the bed looking for my wallet. Realisation crosses her face when I pull it out; and it is obvious that getting pregnant didn't even enter her mind. "We don't want any accidents to happen. Despite the fact that you're sure you want this, I'm pretty certain you don't want kids yet." She's only eighteen. And though I think she'd be an amazing mother; eighteen is much too young.

I don't wait for an answer, and try to slide it on as quickly as possible. I can feel her eyes watching me; and though it's not exactly embarrassing, it adds extra pressure to something so simple.

A few seconds pass, and I am ready for her. Anticipation pools in my stomach; and I move so that I am positioned over her once more. From here, I can gaze into her beautiful hazel eyes; and know that she understands what I am saying "If I get too rough, or you start to feel uncomfortable make sure you tell me okay. Don't think that you can't change your mind at any time." I don't want to hurt her, despite the fact I know it will hurt her because it's her first time; and also because I want her to stop it before we take this step.

Instead, she grins and pulls my mouth down to hers. "I'll remember. But you don't need to worry. You won't hurt me."

"Don't be so sure." She doesn't hear me, but she doesn't understand just how wrong her words are. I will hurt her, both intentionally and unintentionally. But I lose my train of thought as my chest settles against hers and our lips meet

She gasps and winds her fingers into my hair as she realises that we are really going to do ever so gently, I push her legs slightly further apart to position myself at her entrance. Looking into her eyes I _finally_ enters her. I don't want to hurt her, so move slowly, barely entering before I pull back out again. Her fingers trail down my spine before digging into my back and I get the message. She needs more. She seems so small and delicate laid out underneath me, and I feel the worry that I'll be too big for her.

But she doesn't seem worried because she digs her nails in again, and so my next thrust is slightly harder and moves in a little deeper. She pauses slightly and I do too, giving her time to adjust to the feel of me inside of her. Once she is ready and I push into her again. And again slightly harder, but this time I freeze because she gasps; a small sound of pain and shock She freezes for a second, and I realise that must have been her the moment that she was no longer labelled a virgin. I give her time to let the pain, looking deeply into her eyes to check that she's okay and wants to continue. After a short while, it must have passed because she smiles and nods for me to continue; pulling my face back down to hers.

We kiss again, but this time it is sweet and gentle; and as my body rocks against hers, I feel the first tremors moving through my stomach. She becomes more confident and rocks her hips tentatively against mine. I can't help but moan and bury my head in the crook of her neck; it feels _so_ good and sends shockwaves through me. Noticing my reaction, she tries it again, and I thrust harder making her back arch with pleasure. Wanting her to feel that pleasure again, I thrust harder again and again; as she raises her hips to meet me thrust for thrust; both of us groaning in pleasure at the feelings that come with each movement.

The tremors running through me are getting stronger and more intense every time I move in her, and underneath my chest I can feel the shivers running though her abdomen. She's close, like I am; and I want to come with her. She wraps her legs around my waist, pulling me closer, while the small gasps and moans that keep escaping her mouth draw me closer to my orgasm. I am murmuring things into her ear; whispers about how she makes me feel like no one else ever has as I push against her; needing that release, but not wanting it to come because being inside of Roza is heaven and I do not want it to end..

Finally, I feel her stomach tightening, letting me know that she is close to her release; so this time, I pull back till I am almost all the way out of her. She grips at my skin, trying to keep me close like I want to be; but I want to see the expression in her eyes when she comes. So I kiss her closed eyelids tenderly. Once I catch her gaze I give in to both of our desires and plunge all the way into me with one strong thrust of his hips, burying myself as deeply as possible.

And that is all it takes for her to climax; her walls clenching tightly around _me_ as she moans something intelligible before collapsing against the bed. Her tightening against me is all I need to push me over the edge too; and I growl something Russian against her ear repeatedly, thrusting a couple more times to ride it out and help prolong the aftershocks running through her body before I collapse against her.

We're both panting heavily; but I cannot regulate my breathing. All I can think of is the feel of her; being inside of her; hearing her moan into my ear; and of the most powerful orgasm I ever had in my life. After a few seconds I realise that I'm probably crushing her tiny body, so I rolls to move off; but she keeps her legs wrapped round my waist so that she ends up laid against my chest; me still inside of her.

It is strangely peaceful; and I am content to just lie here replaying every second of that fabulous lovemaking; while I run my fingers through her hair and down her spine absentmindedly. Her head rests against my chest; and I listen too her breathing calm down and regulate.

She shakes her head suddenly, struggling to stay awake which makes me chuckle. The first time I had sex, I barely got off her before I zoned out. "Go to sleep Roza."

She shakes her head stubbornly. "No, I'm not ready yet."

I can't help but chuckle again. "Why not?"

And this time, a mischievous smile pops up. "Because I'm not ready to let go of you yet." She sighs happily. "That was amazing. I can't describe it. And I'm not done with you."

I can't believe what she's saying; and my heart feels like it's floating as I tilts her face up to meet mine. I need her to understand just how amazing, powerful, intense… that was. "That was amazing for me too Roza. Perfect. Hell, just thinking about it is making me want to take you again right now to make sure that it was real." As I speak I start to grow hard again and have to fight the urge to roll over and take her repeatedly until I drop dead from exhaustion. "But you need to rest. I remember how tiring it is when you have sex for the first time." I can't help but kiss her again, just to taste her and satisfy some of my desires.

"Go to sleep Roza."

"But you won't be here when I wake up." Her grip tightens on my arm and my heart lifts even higher, realising that she feels similarly to me. That this has to be more than a one-off thing.

"I'll still be here. I promise. I told you, I want to take you again. I _need_ to have you again."

*END FLASHBACK*

My feelings haven't changed. If I didn't believe it was impossible I would say that this is love at first sight; but that couldn't be true. I sigh heavily, and drink the rest of my hot chocolate, which has now gone cold.

A door slams, and I tense up wondering who could be entering the house at _01:47_. I hadn't realised that I had been sitting here for almost two hours. Then I hear a high pitched giggle and a low voice; which I recognise as Miss. Dragomir and her boyfriend. H murmurs something about showering and she giggles before moving down the hallway. I don't move from my position at the breakfast bar, and instead wait for hr to enter the room.

She takes her time, moving from room to room and it is only her slight gasp that alerts me to her presence in the doorway. I spin on my chair to face her, an apologetic half smile on my face to calm her. "Sorry. I drank some of your hot chocolate. Are you Rose's roommate?" My tone is clueless to try and prevent her from closing up. I don't know what Rose would have told her to say to visitors; so it sounds like I am guessing and she can take charge.

She smiles brightly at me, interest flickering in her eyes; but I can tell, after growing up with three sisters that it is not personal interest. She knows that I would not be here if something major didn't happen and she wants to know the gossip. So she'll play nice. "Yep, I'm Lissa. Pleased to meet you. She has stepped into the room, so it is easy for me to reach out and shake her hand."

"Dimitri Belikov. Nice to meet you too Lissa." She smiles, but doesn't elaborate on her name; which leads me to believe that she is still using the Dragomir name. If they are, Rose will have told her too be wary about whom she tells; so despite the fact that Rose has brought me back, she won't reveal anything.

Her boyfriend enters then and peers at me for a second, before grinning widely. "Yes! I won the bet. You owe me $50 Liss!" I watch amused as she frowns at him.

"Christian, where are your manners? We have a guest." She makes a small motion towards me and he turns; the smile still plain to see.

"Oops, sorry. I'm Christian, Lissa's boyfriend."

"No problem. I'm Dimitri Belikov, Rose's…" What am I? I'm not a boyfriend, but we both want it to be more than a one night stand. They both grin at each other and step forward; their intent clear. They want to question me on what happened, when, how it happened, what's going to happen now etc…

Thankfully, before they can begin, Rose enters the kitchen and my jaw drops open. She looks gorgeous. Sexy. Amazing.

Her hair is mussed and tousled slightly, her eyes sleepy as she scrubs at her face with the back of her hand. But what catches me is the fact that she is wearing my shirt; with a couple of the buttons done up to keep her from flashing everyone. It is long enough to cover her up to the middle of her thighs, leaving her long, tanned legs exposed. Breathtaking.

Her eyes light up when she sees me sat at the breakfast bar, and as her gaze travels down my chest and over my body I feel my trousers get slightly tighter. She notices and giggles lightly before moving over to perch on my lap and smile up at her two friends as I wrap my arms around her waist, holding her more securely. "Is there anything that you two need? Considering the fact that I told you to be home an hour ago?"

They look abashed and mumble excuses before going to what I presume is their room. I see as Lissa winks at Rose and gives her the thumbs up before she leaves the room which makes me chuckle.

Rose looks up at me questioningly, but I shake my head. We stay seated like that for a few minutes, comfortable with each others silence. Slowly, so I don't startle her, I rest my face on top of her hair and breathe in the scent that is purely Rose. "Did you have a good sleep?"

She tilts her head back so she can kiss my lips gently before murmuring. "Yep. It was very… refreshing." I chuckle slightly as she continues. "I'm glad you stayed."

"I'm glad I did too." She twists in my arms to face me and kiss me properly. This is an open kiss, full of emotion; one that shows how much we're enjoying being in each others company right now. But I have to break it. "So what now?"

Like I expected, she's startled. "What do you mean, what now?"

I can't help but lean forward and kiss her again gently. "I mean. Do we say thank you and goodbye? Are you gonna take my number and never call or vice versa? Or are we going to make something of it?"

She is smiling mischievously. "How about, you go and get a change of clothes, and then come back? Because as I said, I'm not done with you." She leans forwards and murmurs against my lips. "And if that goes well, then we can 'make something of it' like going on a proper date." Perfect.

I smile underneath her lips. Then you better stop kissing me, and give me my shirt back; because otherwise I might just lose the will to leave."

She pulls back and tries to raise an eyebrow; but both end up lifting instead. She lifts on corner of the shirt and I can see that she is wearing black lacy knickers underneath. "You want me to take it off right here? Right now?" Her voice has become soft and sensual, teasing. "I could do that you know. But what if Christian comes out?" She lifts the next corner, testing me.

I grin back and stand, stepping so that we are chest to chest. "Well, I think that I could make a delay, just so you don't have to run through the house undressed." She grins and leads me to the bedroom, but once I get there I am surprised. She yanks the top off quickly, throwing it at me as she pulls on one of her own.

"Nope, no delays. The sooner you go, the sooner you can come back." My mouth has dropped open, and she giggles. "Chop, chop Dimitri; and close your mouth unless you want to catch flies." I chuckle and shake my head pulling the shirt on before I lean down to pull in my socks and shoes. Once I'm fully dressed I turn to face her.

"I'll be back in a couple of hours."

She grins at me before blowing me a kiss. "Hurry back."

Rose POV.

As soon as Dimitri leaves I yank on a jumper and joggers before leaving the room. Christian and Lissa are already in the front room, waiting for me with anxious faces. They wouldn't have gone to sleep in case Dimitri was a spy or something, and we needed to leave. As soon as I enter, relief crosses both their faces; but they it is not complete.

"What do you think Rose?" Lissa is worried that we will have to relocate again and so she speaks quickly. "Can we trust him?"

I turn to face her. "I don't know Liss. I feel like I can, but it's not a hundred percent." I pull out the photocopy of his drivers licence, I.D card and citizenship card I took while he was talking to Lissa and Christian.(**A.N. I don't know if that's a real thing, so I'm sorry if it's not**.) I rifle through them again before throwing them to Christian. "Scan him."

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**Sorry it took so long to update! My stupid computer has only just gotten the internet up, so here it is! :):):) Hope you liked it, please let me know what you thought! Denicia xx**


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for all the reviews and adds!

**Thanks to: Vampire-Academy 4ever, the anonymous reviewer, rivereq, , laineylane03, vampireacademy101, Badass Hathaway, saraiibelikov, DimkasRoza, Twilighernproud, redglasses, loveyy10, Nefarious1972, talkygirl, DarkRomanceAddict, snowdrop0594 and vox ad umbram sum!**

My internet's been playing up; so if I haven't had the chance to reply back to you, I'm just about to do it! Hope you enjoy this chapter! xx

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_Maybe we're friends  
Maybe we're more  
Maybe it's just my imagination  
But I see you stare just a little too long  
And it makes me start to wonder  
So baby call me crazy  
But I think you feel it too  
Maybe I, Maybe I  
Just got to get next to you_

_Next to you – Jordin Sparks._

Rose POV. 

It's been six months since I first met Dimitri in the club. And surprisingly; things have been pretty good. His check came up clear, proving that he really was Dimitri Belikov. Plain and simple. He was a part-time P.E. teacher at a school halfway across the city, where he'd worked for the past two years; and a part-time fitness instructor at one of those swanky upper class gyms that only the rich and famous can afford. Not surprising really since he was the most handsome man I'd ever seen with the body to match.

Before I'd actually asked him what he worked as, I'd gone to the school and gym to ensure that the information on the national database was correct. Despite it saying that he was a normal guy, I know that databases can be changed. Hell, Lissa's met and brought back so many double agents it's unbelievable. So I check everyone that enters our home. If they don't come up clear, we leave. Safe and efficient.

But the school and gym confirmed that Dimitri was just an extremely handsome, normal guy.

After a little digging I'd found out that he'd moved over to America when he was eighteen and studied sport, health and fitness before doing his teachers degree. He'd been lucky enough to find a job almost straight away; and a year later, had seen the advert for a fitness instructor. The teachers and students I'd spoken to said that he worked hard, and was slightly antisocial, but that he'd opened up a little over the past year. The majority of the girls had giggled and sighed dreamily as soon as I mentioned his name, which made me laugh.

But I was still alert. I trusted Dimitri; and at times I even thought it was love; but I kept a slight distance between us. It had only been six months, despite feeling like we'd been together for years; and if something happened I would need to be able to leave, without any regrets. It took a year for me to trust Christian completely, and him getting shot at by some members of some agency who wanted Lissa. After I took them out and he got over the shock of seeing his life pass before his eyes, he and Lissa were back to making goo-goo eyes at each other. Yeah, there was no way he could have kept up a façade for so long.

Dimitri on the other hand, was different. We spent most evenings and nights together as well as his days off. I hadn't been to his apartment yet, well not officially, because that would only attach me to him more. I'd snuck over once while he was at work; checking to make sure it wasn't fake, but there was nothing there. It was simply a normal flat, owned by a single bloke. He was much tidier than I was; so most things were put away neatly and it was reasonably clean. Except for his bookshelves. Two ceiling high shelves filled too the brim with books. Especially westerns. I couldn't wrap my head around it, or understand the appeal; but he would sit on the sofa happily, engrossed in the adventures of Buck and Chip or whatever stupid name the cowboys and cowgirls had in that particular series.

All in all, life was good. We got on well; had compatible personalities; had _amazing_ sex almost every night. He made me laugh, and every time I saw him, my heart skipped a beat. I'd find myself smiling over nothing, realising that I'd been thinking about him; and have to mentally kick myself. I couldn't allow my feelings to keep growing like this. Yet, at times I simply couldn't help myself. The way that he would gaze at me so intensely, during sex, like he could see my soul. The gentle smile I would sometimes get, and the way he tenderly stroked through my hair when we were simply curled up on the sofa, talking about random subjects. The power he made me feel, by letting me take control. The way he looked at me made me feel beautiful, strong, and sensual; not like a sex toy the way other guy's stares made me feel.

_Shit._

I'd fallen for him, and the realisation made me tense up. We were curled up on the sofa, watching some cooking show for celebs and laughing at their reactions, so he felt my change in posture. "What's wrong?" That intense, concerned gaze caught my heart and made me want to cry. This couldn't be happening.

"Nothing, just thinking."

"About what?" His voice was soft; such a contrast to the raw strength he had. And before I could stop myself, I blurted out. "About the fact that I might like you more than I should."

Damn. Admitting it made me feel like a small weight had been lifted from my shoulders, but it also made my feeling pound stronger than before. I bit my lip before meeting his gaze; to find happiness in his eyes; shadowed slightly by sadness.

"I like you too. Really like you. A heck of a lot more than I should." Hurt flashes in my eyes, and he sees. "No, no, I didn't mean it like that Roza. I just meant that it's only been six months and I'm already in lo-" He cuts himself off, looking embarrassed. But my heart is rejoicing. Because he loves me!

It sounds silly and needy, but I want to hear him say it. So I take a deep breath and fully admit my feelings. "I, I…" My throat has closed up, and I lick my lips nervously as his breath catches and he stares into my eyes intently. I can't speak under such an intense gaze, so I squeeze my eyes shut before whispering. "I love you."

There is silence, and I peak one eye open to see Dimitri staring down at me in shock. "Really?" He looks hopeful, but like he cannot bear to believe it in case it isn't true.

"Really."

The grin that passes across his face is breathtaking, and I smile back as he strokes down the side of my face affectionately, his touch sending shivers through me. "I love you too."

I lift my head up to meet his, and he leans down, eager to kiss me. He shifts, and I feel a rush of air as he lifts me in his strong arms, carrying me towards the bedroom.

…...

A couple of hours later and I am wrapped in Dimitri's embrace, curled against his side smiling to myself. His cheek rests on top of my head, and I can feel that he is smiling too. I cannot believe that I have just gone against everything I said at the start, and fallen in love with this amazing, beautiful caring man; who by some strange twist of fate, loves me back. Every touch, every kiss, every caress told me so.

And then his alarm goes off breaking the peaceful mood between us. He groans, but sits up to look for his clothes. I'd forgotten that he's leaving early tomorrow morning for the school's French exchange.

A whole week without him. He sees my mournful expression and stops dressing to lean over and kiss my lips. "It's only a week Roza. We leave tomorrow and arrive there Sunday morning. We stay till Saturday; and arrive back here around lunch time on Sunday." He kisses me once more. "I promise I'll come straight over."

The thought of seeing him again makes me smile, but I still wrap my arms around his neck to pull him closer. "Why don't you just stay here tonight? Go get your clothes and come back."

He chuckles softly. "Because I don't dare wake you up at two in the morning to say goodbye. The wrath of Rosemarie Hathaway is a scary thing that would make even the toughest men quake in their boots."

"Though what you say is true; I still think you should stay over. Then I can say a proper goodbye." My hand trails down his chest suggestively and he shivers against my touch.

"I want to Roza; believe me I do. But I still need to pack, and check with the head of French that they haven't made any changes." Something about that sentence bugs me, but I can't figure out what. He kisses me gently again before straightening up. "I'll see you in a week. I love you."

"Have fun then. I love you too." He smiles and walks out of the room. "Ooh, and don't forget to bring me back a present!" His chuckle is the last thing I hear before the front door slams shut.

…...

It's nearly 11pm and Dimitri left to go pack about three hours ago. I should have been asleep by now, by something about his earlier statement is niggling me; and I can't tell why. What is it about that statement that sounds out of place?

For the millionth time I sigh and start to pace. Normally, when I get nervous I move less; but tonight I need to feel active. I've been slacking on my proper training lately as Dimitri's been round almost every night. Nott to say that we haven't been working out in a different way; but with Lissa's safety at stake, I need to keep my body in good shape. Again, I start to pace.

Lissa groans as I start walking again. "Rose, if you're that worked up. Just go see him. Stay at his place, whether he's asked you over or not. I don't get what's bugging you so much."

"I don't know either Liss. It's just what he said. 'I need to pack, and check they haven't made any changes." Something about that's just wrong. It's irritating me because I can't figure out what it is."

She rolls her eyes. "Then go and find out what it is. You guys love ach other, I doubt that he's gonna lie to you about something so trivial." She laughs slightly, expecting me to join in and tell her that she's removed all my fears. But instead the pieces are starting to fall together. "What?" Her tone is nervous, realising that this is now something serious.

"He already packed."

"What?" She's confused at where I'm going with this.

"He already packed. He did it a couple of days ago, that's why he got here late on Tuesday. He said he only needed to put in his toothbrush; and he'd do that on Saturday morning before he left." My voice is a whisper. "He's up to something."

Maybe he's planning to propose?" She's clutching at straws; and we both know it. "Or he unpacked and needs to do it again?"

My voice is grim, determined. "I don't know; but I'm going to find out. Go wake Christian and tell him that we might need to leave. To pack the essentials only. If he is a spy or working for one of those agencies; this whole trip could be a cover for an ambush."

I am in my room by this time, changing my clothes while Lissa stands at the door, scared to leave my side. "Liss, it'll be fine. It's probably nothing." Black turtleneck and joggers. Black plimsolls and my hair scraped back into a tight bun. Knife? Check. Gun? Check. Stun gun? Check. Credit card and notes in case I can't get back? Check. I switch to using the link. _If he's covering, they might have placed cameras or sound recorders in here. So be careful what you say. Just pretend that everything's normal._

_Okay__. Be careful Rose, please._

_I will Liss. Don't worry._

_I know you will be Rose, but will your heart? I've never seen you let anyone in besides me… and occasionally Christian. If he is crossing us… I'm sorry._

I stop using the link and speak out loud. "It's fine Liss. Nothing to worry about. Seriously, don't worry about me. I'll be back soon."

We hug briefly and then I am out of the door.

I am lucky enough to catch a taxi after waiting for a few minutes. The ride is reasonably quick, but every second that passes makes my stomach twist nervously with the thought that I am one step closer to finding out whether I have been the weak link; and placed my trust in the wrong person. But on the other hand, I might find that all of my fears are unjustified; and see Dimitri rushing to get everything packed so he can grab a few hours sleep before the stressful week ahead of him.

Eventually, the taxi pulls up, as requested, two streets away from Dimitri's flat. I pay him quickly and hop out; slipping into the shadows. Nothing can be left to chance.

As I turn the corner of his road, I see a light flick off in his window; and so I shrink back into the shadows, my breath in my throat. I am praying that he has simply switched off a light before he goes to bed; but a few minutes later he leaves the house, no suitcase in hand. He walks in the opposite direction to where I am hiding, and I trail him silently; watching for any indication that he knows he is being followed. But he continues to walk, seemingly deep in thought until his phone rings.

He lifts it to his ear, and answers in a tone that I have never heard on him before. "Belikov." It is sharp, all business; and unease trickles down my spine. "I'm almost there, just a couple of minutes away." The person on the other end says something else, and he hangs up. I continue to follow him, until I see that he is approaching an alleyway with two burly men posted at either side.

So I hang back until he disappears into the darkness, wracking my brains to think of a way to get rid of them.

I pull my hair out of the bun so it tumbles messily around my shoulders, and roll the turtleneck up so it resembles a long-sleeved crop top. Then I step out and stumble my way across the road. I'm hoping to give off the air of a drunken teenager and it seems to work. As I get closer, the two men eye me up; but do not move.

I hate pretending to be defenceless and weak; but I need one of them to move. So once I am a couple of metres away, I 'trip' and stumble to the floor, letting out a small squeak of pain. They both look towards me, but only one of them actually takes a hesitant step; assessing my crumpled form before he walks over to help me up. He crouches down, and that is when my gun goes off in his chest, the silencer and his bulk muffling the small noise. His partner keeps watching, wondering why we are still not off the floor; and before he has time to react to his friend slumped over, I have shot him too.

That was easy enough.

I walk slowly down the alleyway, careful to avoid any litter or puddles that may give me away. It is dim, but once I get halfway down, I see Dimitri's back. The urge to shoot him and leave pumps through me; but I need to hear what he is saying, and find out how much he knows. Maybe, just maybe, there is some sort of explanation.

So I creep closer, and stand tucked behind the outline of one of the buildings. I am hidden from view, but can see and hear everything clearly. Dimitri has his back to me, and is facing a smaller woman with greying hair. His posture is stiff and angry; hers calming and composed. Her face prickles in my memory, but it takes a few seconds before I can recall her name. And when I do; dread falls heavy in my stomach. Alberta Petrov. Head agent at The Academy. The main agency that wants Lissa. Not only have I let a double agent into our home. I have made the biggest mistake of my life. Of all of our lives.

I stop my mental panicking and listen to what is being said. Unable to help myself, I step forwards, out of my hiding place to hear better. "I don't want to do it anymore Alberta. I can't do it anymore. I'll take the punishment if I have to; but I can't toy with her like this anymore."

Her voice is soothing, like a mother's would be. "Dimitri, you have to. It's your assignment. And it's only for a couple more weeks, when we'll have all the information. It's not real."

He shakes his head, frustrated. "You don't understand Alberta. She thinks it's real. I can see it in her eyes. We need a new plan; something that doesn't involve me directly. I can't do this to her anymore."

"I'm sure it's not that bad Dimitri."

The force of his voice shocks me as he explodes at the smaller woman. "She LOVES me! She loves me Alberta. How can that not be that bad? Not only am I breaking her trust, but I'll be breaking her heart too. I can't do that. And it's too late, because no matter what happens now, she's still going to get hurt. The only thing that'll change is the level of embarrassment depending on how I let her down."

Alberta goes to reply, but freezes when her earpiece goes off, as does Dimitri's. And from the distance I am at, I can faintly hear the message being passed on. "Petrov. Belikov. Someone is behind you, from the visuals, it looks like the two watchmen have been taken out. What course of action should we take?"

Dimitri spins to look at me, horror covering his face; as his eyes lock with mine. Alberta gasps when she sees that the 'someone' is in fact me; and instantly begins shouting something to whoever is on the other end of the earpiece. But I cannot hear, because my ears are ringing with the realisation that Dimitri really has betrayed me.

He opens his mouth to say something, but before a word can leave his lips; I am sprinting down the alleyway; trying to get far away as quickly as possible.

_Falling out of love is hard  
Falling for betrayal is worst  
Broken trust and broken hearts  
I know, I know  
Thinking all you need is there  
Building faith on love is worst  
Empty promises will wear  
I know, I know_

And now when all is gone  
There is nothing to say  
And if you're done with embarrassing me  
On your own you can go ahead tell them

_Tell them all I know now  
Shout it from the roof tops  
Write it on the sky line  
All we had is gone now  
Tell them I was happy  
And my heart is broken  
All my scars are open  
Tell them what I hoped would be  
Impossible, impossible  
Impossible, impossible_

_Impossible – Shontelle._

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**Please review, and let me know what you thought of this chapter! xx**

**I'm trying to get the next chapter done now so I can post it up tomorrow; but after that my updates over the next two weeks will be slightly irregular. I've got three exams and a ton of homework to do, so unfortunately my schoolwork needs to come first if I want to get into the universities I want. But I will be writing in all my spare time so I can keep updating! Thank you for reading! Denicia xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Wow! I had the best ever response for the last chapter! Thank you so much! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter just as much :) Denicia xx**

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_Even if you were a million miles away  
I could still feel you in my bed  
near me, touch me, feel me  
And even in the bottom of the sea  
I can still hear inside my head  
Telling me, touch me, feel me  
And all the time you were telling me lies_

_So tonight I'm gonna find a way to make it without you_  
_Tonight I'm gonna find a way to make it without you_  
_I'm gonna hold on to the times that we had_  
_Tonight I'm gonna find a way to make it without you_

_Have you ever tried sleeping with a broken heart?_  
_Well you can try sleeping in my bed_  
_Lonely, only, nobody ever shut it down like you_  
_You wore the crown, you make my body feel heaven-bound_  
_Why don't you hold me, need me, I thought you told me_  
_You'd never leave me_

_Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart – Alicia Keys._

I run down the road blindly, pushing my legs to move faster than ever before. At first there were shouts and calls behind me; and I was running to get away and save my life, to save Lissa's life.

And then I hear the pounding of footsteps, and his voice, calling for me to stop and let him explain. So he can feed me more lies and butter me up so I'll let him back in. Or so he can catch me and use me as bait to get Lissa. Anger and betrayal burns through me, and my legs shift even faster, breaking all of my previous sprint records; and after a while, his footsteps become fainter as I put more distance between us.

After a few more minutes, I find myself at the main road and flag down a taxi, jumping in before he even stops. I am out of breath, but I manage to pant the address to him. "If you get me there in fifteen minutes, I'll pay you triple the normal cost." Spurred on by the thought of an enormous tip, he presses the gas pedal to the floor and pulls away from the curb, his tyres screeching.

I tie my hair back up and unroll my top before running out of things to do. So I sit there, staring out of the window as Dimitri's betrayal comes crashing down on me all over again. And then, for the first time in two years since the funeral for Lissa's family, I cry. The tears spill over and trickle down my cheeks as small sobs break out of my chest until they grow and wrench at my heart. All the pain and hurt leaves me through the tears staining my face. I am trying to warn Lissa and tell her to get out of the house before The Academy gets there, but my crying makes it impossible.

I hiccup as I try to gain control of myself, but there is none to be had. That man has broken me completely. But I need too warn Lissa. Even though I have allowed him to infiltrate the group, I still need to try and protect Lissa. So I hiccup and take deep breaths, clearing my mind momentarily of what he has done.

It works, and I am able to send the message through to Lissa. _Get out of there now. He's been working for The Academy all along. Get to a hotel and wait for my signal._

_Rose? We're just about to leave._

_Good, have you got my stuff too?_

_We took some of your clothes and as many weapons as we could carry, but it's not much. Are you okay?_

_I'm fine Liss. I was stupid to fall for it in the first place. Just get out of there and get as far away as possible. Have we still got any of that read paint left over from Halloween?_

_I think so. Christians gone to get it. But Rose, forget about me for a second. How are you _really_ holding up? You're covering, but I know that you're hurting. It's okay to show it Rose; you don't need to hide it from me. _

Another small sob breaks out of my chest, and my thoughts waver._ I'm… I'm hurt. I feel embarrassed and stupid and like I don't know anything. I've been played, and it hurts. My heart hurts Liss._

_Oh Rose… _She has no words, so instead sends me her emotions through the link. Comfort and friendship. Understanding and sorrow. Kindness and love.

_I'll be okay Liss. Honestly. Just get yourself out of there and leave me the paint with a brush._

_We're going to talk about this once we all get together._

A giggle slips through my lips at the thought of one of Lissa's therapy sessions_. With hugging and crying and massive bars of chocolate?_

_Of course. Chocolate is the best treatment for broken hearts and coming up with revenge plans. Right, we're out of the door now, it's unlocked; but Christians pretending to lock it in case they're watching or have cameras or something like that._

_Okay, be careful. Both of you._

_We will Rose, see you soon. _

_Bye._

I snap out of it, to find the driver watching me through his mirror with concern. "Are you okay sweetie? You were bawling your eyes out a minute ago, and then you kind of spaced out."

"I'm fine." A few more tears slide down my cheeks, but my voice stays strong. "Just a bad break up I guess. I found out that my boyfriend has been lying to me from the day we met; and I just don't understand how I didn't see it."

He nods slowly, his face filled with understanding. I've got a girl, not much older than you. Went through the exact same thing with a guy that messed her around from day one. Trust me, it's better that you found out now; rather than once he'd knocked you up or something similar. Where is she now? With two kids, and a man who's around less than a solar eclipse. Use it to your advantage and turn this experience into something positive."

He reminds me of the father I never had. Wise and filled with knowledge. "I don't know how to turn this into a positive experience. I don't see how it could ever be something good."

His eyes flick from mine to the road to check on the traffic flow, before they meet my gaze in the mirror again. "Learn from it. Don't let another guy treat you that way. You know what to look out for this time. And don't let him back into your life. If he's done it once, and you let him get away with it; he'll do it again because he knows that you'll forgive him." He glances away and pulls over. "This is your stop sweetie. Will you be okay?"

My voice is still shaky, but gaining some of its former strength. "I'll be okay. I share a house with my best friend, so she'll help me through it. Thank you for your advice."

"No problem sweetheart. Just remember what I said. You seem like you've got a good heart and I'd hate to see you end up like my daughter. No woman deserves to be treated that way."

I smile and pay him quickly, four times the normal fare to say thanks for the advice, before running inside and up the stairs. Once I get to my flat, I find the door locked, like Lissa said it would be and creep cautiously inside.

No one has broken in, to hide in wait for me; but I stay alert, just in case _he_ gets here before I leave. But the taxi driver has done even better than I expected, and gotten me home in ten minutes.

But still, Academy agents could be on their way p to the flat right now; so I do not have the luxury of time. I dash into my room, grabbing the large duffle bag from on top of my wardrobe. From there I reach under the bed, pulling out the suitcase that contains my guns, knives, bullets, tasers… basically all of my weapons. They are repacked into my bag quickly and carefully before I add a few clothes on top. Underwear and t-shirts are the main thing that I need, and thank fully Lissa has packed most of them. I grab a few more jumpers and I am ready to leave.

As I pass through the hallway, the can of paint catches my eye; and I remember what I needed it for.

When The Academy arrives at the flat to tear it apart, I want everyone to see my message. So I write it on the hallway wall which is white. Red on white. Effective, catches your attention and will ensure that everyone including _him_, will see it.

Once I'm done, I stand back, admiring my handiwork.

A small beep from the clock brings me back from my fantasizing about ripping Dimitri's balls off with my bare hands, and reminds me that he might well be on his way here now with back up.

So I take one last look at the message before grabbing the bag and rushing out of the door.

Dimitri POV.

_"Petrov. Belikov. Someone is behind you, from the visuals, it looks like the two watchmen have been taken out. What course of action should we take?"_

The blood drains from my face once the message comes through. There is only one 'someone' who could possibly have followed me; and when I spin around to meet her eyes my fears are confirmed.

Distantly, I can hear Alberta giving orders to Yuri and Stan; but I cannot focus on that. All I know is that Roza. My beautiful Roza has finally found out that I have been betraying her; and like I said to Alberta, her heart is breaking.

The look on her face is clear to see. And in that second; she looks vulnerable and scared, like a child that doesn't fully understand what's going on.

Roza.

I open my mouth to speak, to try and explain; but I know it is a waste of time. Before the pathetic excuses can leave my mouth she is gone, sprinting back down the alleyway and away from me.

Roza.

This was the week when they were going to collect up all the information and recordings I'd gained, before putting their final plan into action. That's why I'd been assigned to going on the school trip. I wouldn't really be going, the school knew that, but it gave me the alibi I needed to leave town for a week without any awkward questions. They needed me there to give 'insider knowledge' and make sure they interpreted everything correctly. And I'd been kind of okay with it. Wrestling with my conscience over the fact that I should warn Roza, and just come clean. But cowardice, both at her reaction and the wrath of The Academy stopped me.

So my heart ha clenched painfully in my chest as I'd lied to her face, kissed her beautiful lips, and made excuses about how I needed to go home and pack. And I'd told her that I loved her. Finally admitted my feelings, after she took the brave step of admitting it first. I'd tried to keep things as professional as possible, tried to hide any signs of my growing emotions, but sometimes I couldn't help myself.

She'd catch me gazing at her, wondering how on Earth this amazing woman came to be held in my arms. The smile I couldn't get off my lips, simply because I was so happy, so peaceful, just by lying on the sofa with her talking about a random subject; or sometimes not talking at all. The way I'd catch her smiling to herself, then she'd glance at me shyly in case I caught her. The way that Rosemarie Hathaway had simply caught my heart and made it hers without even realising it.

But it doesn't matter now, because she is gone. Disappeared into the night.

We had tried to pursue her; but she was fast. Pretty soon, the others stopped running, aware that it was a lost cause; but I needed to catch her and explain. But as soon as she heard me, se sped up. And after a couple more minutes, even I couldn't keep up with her.

So I'd turned back and met up with Alberta and the others. They were frantic, worrying about what would happen now. We all knew what would happen, but I was the only one with the guts to say it out loud. "They'll leave. Go underground and relocate somewhere else."

"So what do we do?" Yuri sounded nervous, echoing all of our feelings. The Academy didn't like failure; and this was a massive glitch.

Alberta took charge. "We wait for the cars to arrive, and then we go there; hopefully, they won't have had enough time to pack up and leave before we arrive."

So we'd nodded and stood around anxiously for a minute until the cars arrived. Then the atmosphere became strictly business.

Once we got to there we didn't waste anytime in running up the stairs and bursting through the door which was unlocked.

That was the first clue that we were too late.

The fact that there were no gun shots, no sounds of agents falling and being taken out by a livid Rose was the second.

And the deathly silence from all the agents as they saw the discarded paint pot and the message on the bright white wall was the third. I could feel all their stares as they waited for my reaction to the message Rose had left. _For me_. Scrawled across the wall in red paint.

_You broke my heart. If I_ ever_ see you again, I'll make sure to repay the favour._

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**My exams are all over by the 2****nd**** of December, and I will try to update before then, butt I'm not making any promises. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know what you though of it! Xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**I saw all the amazing reviews you gave me, and they made me want to cry. Thank you so much for all the well wishes for my exam tomorrow and all the support you've given me during this story. I couldn't get this next chapter out of my head, so I thought 'sod it Denicia, type it up and post it, then do your revision.' So that's exactly what I did! :D **

**I'm sorry if this story seems to be moving too quickly; but that's exactly how I saw it, very intense and fast-paced. Hope you enjoy! xx**

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_If I had all the money in the world  
I still couldn't buy me a brand new girl I love...  
Too much clubbing, not enough loving  
Too much shopping, too busy chasing the skriller  
Now look i lost me a winner  
Sitting there singing this song like  
You never know what you've got 'til it's gone like_

Damn, I wish I would've seen it coming  
Cause I blink for a second and you caught me slipping, Oh, Oh, Oh  
Now we're done before we even started  
Didn't know how much I missed you  
(Didn't know how much I would miss you  
I messed up the perfect picture)  
Until You Were Gone, gone, gone  
Until You Were Gone, gone, gone  
Until You Were Gone, gone, gone  
I didn't know how much I missed you  
Oh whoa oh oh oh oh oh oh  
Oh whoa oh oh oh oh oh-oh

_Until you were gone – Chipmunk._

Dimitri POV.

It's been six months since Rose packed up and left. Six months. One hundred and eighty four days. Four thousand, four hundred and sixteen hours. Two hundred, sixty four thousand, nine hundred and sixty minutes. Fifteen million, eight hundred and ninety-seven thousand, six hundred seconds. And every one of them passes like a knife to the heart.

I want to cry every time we search a state and don't find either her or the princess. No sightings, no rumours, no nothing. I'll hear a song on the radio, and my mind will flashback to an evening at her flat; where she's washing up and singing along, not caring whether the whole tower block can hear her. Or I'll see a woman pushing a child on a child on a swing, and remember Rose playing with the children at the park when we went out for a walk. There'll be an elderly couple walking down the road, hands intertwined, love still clear in their eyes despite the years that have passed. And I know that it's my fault, that in the future, that won't be me and Roza.

Because I've lost her forever.

Even if we found her, and by some strange twist of fate, she didn't kill me before I even had time to blink; she'd never take me back. I betrayed her trust, her respect… her love. She's not going to let me back into her heart, no matter what I do. But, the latest update gives me hope.

Celeste, a new recruit, thinks that she might have spotted them. She'd been traveling for a couple of months before her probationary period starts; and she'd caught a flash out of the corner of her eye. Pure chance. They were staying in the same hotel that she was, trying to keep a low profile. So she'd called us, and kept an eye out. So here we were, a day later waiting for her to give us the all clear to come up to her room.

After what had felt like an eternity, she called us up, and gave the best news that I'd ever heard. "It's definitely them. All three of them are staying in a room on the ground floor, probably because that has the most exits. From what I've seen on the blue prints, they're connecting rooms with Miss Dragomir and Mr. Ozera in one, and Rosemarie in the other. They're not in the hotel at the moment; they've gone to the small restaurant down the street. They left a couple of hours ago, so I don't know how long we have until they get back."

_Love hurts, love scars, love wounds and mars.  
Any heart not tough n__or strong enough,  
to take a lot of pain, take a lot of pain.  
Love is like a cloud, holds a lot of rain._

_Love hurts_  
_Oooh oooh love hurts_

_I'm young, I know but even so,_  
_I know a thing or two, I've learned from you._  
_I've really learned a lot really learned a lot._  
_Love is like a stove, burns you when it's hot._

_Love Hurts – Gram Parsons._

Rose POV.

It's been a year since I first saw Dimitri in the club. Six months since I found out that he was crossing us and we left. Six months of continually hiding out, changing hotels every few days, and changing states every couple of weeks.

And up till now; we've been lucky enough to avoid The Academy. A couple of times, we've had some close encounters with a few agents and they've nearly seen us, or gotten too close for my liking. But I didn't kill them; we just packed up and left, silently and unnoticed without leaving a trail. If I didn't kill them, they didn't know we were there; and that gave us enough time to move on and start fresh.

We took it in turns to choose where to head to next. Trying to keep our movements as random as possible, so if they were somehow still managing to track us, they couldn't figure out a pattern. Lissa had wanted to go to Alabama because it was the place where we'd grown up; and if not there then Georgia so she could see the place where her dad had worked. But that was too risky, too predictable. They'd most certainly have agents on the look out in those states, as well as around the country; just in case we decided to go back.

She'd been sad, but understood.

Money was limited, so at the moment we were all stuffed into the cramped room of some crumbling little hotel that was going out of business. It was the same routine in every hotel. Lissa would go in and book a single room; before Christian and I snuck in through a window. She would get extra blankets, claiming she was cold; then she and Christian shared the bed while I slept on the floor. She hated the fact that I hadn't slept on a proper bed, and that we were conning the owners out of their money; but we didn't have much to spare. We always kept a large stash in a suitcase whenever we moved; and that was what she'd brought with her, but bank accounts were traceable. What we had _needed_ to last.

So we all suffered together, living on the bare essentials. Except for tonight. We were all sick, to be frank, of seeing nothing but each others faces everyday for the past six months. Yes, we were all close; but we needed our personal space. And Lissa and Christian needed their _private space_. If I walked in on them groping each other on the bed one more time I would either; be sick, go crazy, or shoot Christian in the ass with my taser. None of those options were particularly appealing, so I'd reluctantly agreed to allow them to book two rooms at our current hotel _and_ go out for dinner.

It was only at the local Chinese, which had seen better days, but it gave them a bit of 'couple time' and would allow me to sleep on an actual bed. But they couldn't go out alone, which lead to the reason why I was perched on the window ledge outside the restaurant; making sure that no agents had found us and were planning to swoop in and steal Lissa away.

But it was disgusting. I'd eaten before I'd left, knowing that the sight and smell of the food would make my stomach grumble; but all the two lovebirds seemed concerned with was eating each others faces. Honestly! There was good food on their plates for crying out loud! Going to waste; because they hadn't had sex for six months. And I knew that was a lie, because I'd get woken up every couple of weeks at a stupidly early hour in the morning by strange giggles coming from the bathroom. I hadn't had sex in six months. And before I'd met Dimitri I hadn't ever had sex. Lissa had met Christian when she was seventeen and they'd gone at it from day one. The same as Dimitri and I; except they had a happy ending. And they were claiming that they felt 'deprived.' Well excuse me for saving their lives.

But that was my job. I was her best friend; but I was also her protection. So I'd agreed to let them have their time so long as I kept watch. And, if I said that we needed to cut it short, they would. But so far everything was going well. I let my eyes sweep across the inside of the restaurant once more before focusing back on the outside.

And my back tenses up.

I don't know what it is exactly about the men across the street that sets me on edge; but there's something there. They're two reasonably young guys; drinking beer, smoking and having a hearty laugh about whatever it is that they find funny. But something about it seems forced. Fake.

My gaze passes over them again, as if I am simply glancing around curiously; but instead I take in every detail. They're directly across from me, and more importantly, the window that Lissa and Christian are sitting by. Every so often, their gazes would flick to me, not to check me out, but in a way that alerts me to the fact that they are watching. Surveying. And my heat jumps into my throat. Because they have found us.

Shit.

_Lissa!_ She's too busy sucking face with Christian to focus on me screaming through the link. _Lissa!_

I can't tap on the glass, because that will let them know that I have realised what they are. So I scream continually in my head. _Lissa! Lissa! Lissa! Lissa! Lissa! Lissa!_

Finally, after she tires of hearing my mental screeches, she turns her attention towards me.

_What Rose?_ She's pissed at being interrupted.

_They're here, across the road. They've found us. So get the waitress, pay for the meal and get out!_

_What?_

_Stop panicking and get out!_

She signals to the waiter, and I give out a mental sigh of relief. But that turns to fear when I see the guys cross the road casually, as if they have decided to move on. Ad when I risk a frantic glance inside, I see that the waiter who brings them the check is not actually their waiter at all. But a waitress. In fact, she's the woman who rode up with us in the escalator yesterday.

Dread settles into me as I see that we are being hemmed in. The two guys are now weaving their way in my direction from two angles, trying to be discrete and pin me in. And listening through the link I can tell that the 'waitress' is wasting time, presumably so other agents can get here.

If that's their game, then I'm ready to play it. _Liss. Stop worrying. Play along with her rather than going on the offensive. You got the knife that I gave you?_

Her thoughts are shaky with worry; but she still replies. _Yes._

_And Christian has the gun I taught him to use?_

_I think so. Even though you said he couldn't use it. Why?_

_Because he just might need to use it. Just be on your guard; and if anyone else tries to come over and get you to leave, refuse. If they drag you out, shoot them and run. Don't go back to the hotel, just run. Head for the state border, or hitchhike, do whatever it takes to get away._

_What are you going to do?_

_I'm going to take out these guys, and then leave a little message for Dimitri. Leave the waitress behind, she wants to play the game; I'll show her the rules. I'll be back soon. Be careful._

And with that parting message, I drop from the ledge and head towards the first guy. He's surprised at first, probably at being caught out so soon, but then excitement covers his face. I grin slightly and surprise covers his face again.

"Ready to take me on? I thought you assholes got the message that told you to stay the fuck away from us. I painted it in bright red, foot high letters. Wasn't it big and clear enough for you?"

He doesn't reply, but swings at me. With a knife.

I dodge it neatly, and decide to have some fun. "So you guys finally realised that you need to take me out? Not just capture me and lock me up? Or did your boss tell you that even with fives knives, and me having my hands chopped off, you couldn't beat me."

He narrows his eyes and swings again. And I dodge again.

The air shifts behind me, and I duck, the blade of the second goon slicing through the space where my head had been only moments before.

"So you want to join in too?"

We begin to fight; some weird lopsided three-way fight, yet, despite them having an extra person, I disarm them in a matter of minutes. (See A.N. at end of chapter)

I really can't be bothered with killing them, and hiding the bodies, no to mention the fact that bloodstains are a bitch to wash out; so I pistol-whip them, before dragging their bodies to lean against the side of the dumpster. Now they look like a couple of drunks, passed out.

Then I head back inside the restaurant.

To find Lissa and Christian gone.

I push run around chairs and tables, towards the back door of the restaurant, and as I get there I hear a gunshot before Lissa screams.

My heart in my throat, I burst through the doors as another gun goes off and another, and my eyes widen as a body hits the ground.

Thankfully, neither Christian nor Lissa are on the floor. But an agent's body is. Christians face is pale and Lissa's is tinged green. I run over to support her as she wobbles, and grab Christians hand.

"Come on, you did really well Christian. I'm proud of you. Well done."

His face is starting to regain its colour, but Lissa groans and sags in my arms. "Lissa, I know that it's scary and horrible; and you feel guilty because it's another life lost, but it was necessary. He had a gun Liss and that could have been you on the floor. Let's be glad it wasn't."

She nods weakly, and begins to walk. I link her hand with Christians and turn slowly, my body aching, to ensure there aren't any more agents lurking on the roofs of the buildings. No faces pop over the edge and so I run ahead, to check around the corner of the restaurant.

"It's clear, let's find a car and get out of here."

"Rose…" Her voice is soft, and in the fading light, her face is shadowed. Exaggerating the sadness she feels.

"Yes Liss?"

"We need to go back to the hotel."

"No." My voice is sharp, but she knows we can't do that.

"We don't have anything Rose. Our clothes are there. Our money is there. If we don't go back we'll have nothing."

"Liss, it's too dangerous. They're probably there right now, tearing through our stuff. There's nothing to go back and get."

"Please Rose. My... my stuff is there. It's all I have left of my family. I can't leave it behind." Her voice breaks, and I am torn.

I make my decision, sighing deeply, which causes my stomach to hurt. "Okay Liss. We'll go back. But we get a car first, and you stay in it. I'll go in, grab the stuff, and we leave."

"Okay. Thank you." My strength is fading fast, but I cannot give in yet. We find a blue Chrysler down a side street, and I keep watch while Christian hot wires it. That boy may not be good for much else, but give him technology, or something that uses electricity and heat, and he's your man. So in a matter of minutes, the car is running.

We pull up to the hotel and I give them their instructions one last time. "Circle the block three times. If I'm not outside by then, don't go round again. Just leave, and I'll find my way to you." They nod, faces grim; and I am out of the car.

Like with all the other hotels, I enter through the window. But I enter through Lissa's. A quick glance through mine let me know that there were agents waiting inside; but hers was empty. Like at the restaurant, they must have figured that if they took me out, they could grab Lissa much more easily.

So I glance down at my stomach one more time, grit my teeth at the pain, and heave my body through the window as silently as possible. For there, I grab as much stuff as possible, stuffing it into their duffel bags. I leave my room, all that's in there are clothes anyway. My weapons are stashed in Lissa's room, knowing that people are less likely to suspect her than they me.

Finally done, I drop the bags out of the window; and take one last look around the room.

One last look I shouldn't have taken because the handle turns and the door opens.

And there, standing in front of me is Dimitri.

We both freeze for a second, shocked at seeing the other there. His mouth opens, and he emits a silent word. "Roza." That is all I need to spur me into action. My hand itches to fulfil my message, but Lissa needs me, and there are too many agents around. I cannot take the time for my revenge, so I leave, promising myself that the next time it will come true. I groan at the pain from lifting myself up onto the window ledge, and as he strides across the room, I have slipped away. He calls for back up, and I hear as he heads out of the room, presumably to try and catch me before I escape.

But I grab the bags and run, Lissa and Christian nowhere in sight. So I run in the direction they should have taken, the bags slowing me down considerably. Added to the growing pain in my abdomen, I was running at half my normal speed. Too slow to get ahead. But I still try, pushing my body to work through the pain. And then I hear voices and shouts, his shouts for me to stop as they gain on me.

But I cannot give up, so I ignore them and run, blocking them out as they grow ever closer. Someone grabs the back of my shirt, and I crash to the floor, skinning my knees and grazing my face on the sidewalk. But they have fallen too, and so I wriggle out of their grasp and kick them in the face before grabbing the bags again and running. But those few seconds have given them all the time they need to get within reach.

But just as I think that they might just catch me, I hear a car beep and Lissa shouts for me, leaning out of the unwound window. So I turn to the side and run towards her, throwing the first bag. She catches it and yanks it in before leaning out again. I throw the second, and she repeats the action before opening the door for me. "Get in!"

But I cannot. The pain is slowly winning, and my pace is beginning to drop. But I see her desperate face and try to push my legs to run faster, just for a minute longer. But as my body tries to obey, I am tackled to the ground, my side slamming against the pavement. I cry out and Lissa screams for me, yelling at Christian to turn the car around. But he catches my eye, along with the message I send with it; and so he reaches behind to slam the door shut.

Lissa is yelling at him to turn back, to go and help; but he knows what he has to do. His face set into a grim line, he flicks the internal lock and speeds up, leaving me behind so they are safe.

The person who has slammed me to the ground doesn't like my struggles and punches my in the stomach viciously. "Shut up!" I spit in his face, and he punches me again, which causes me to cry out in pain.

But before he can hit me again, he is wrenched off of my body, and flies into the side of the building.

I glance up in shock to see Dimitri towering over him, and a ring of agents enclosing us. I am trapped. Caught. But that doesn't scare me. What does scare me is the irate look across Dimitri's face as he looks over the crumpled form of the agent who took me down. He is enraged, and I watch shocked as he lifts the man and throws him against the building once more before yelling at him. "You were told not to injure her. You were given explicit orders not to."

The man tries to croak his innocence. "I didn't. Ii only took her down like I was ordered."

Dimitri's gaze blisters, and he grabs the poor man up by his collar before dumping him next to me. I want to move away, but my body is too tired to move, ready to succumb to exhaustion. "Then what is that?"

He is pointing at my stomach, but the man doesn't seem to understand. He sighs angrily before crouching down in front of me. I don't want him within a ten mile radius of me, unless I can choke the life out of him with my bare hands, but my body cannot move.

I can only watch as he leans forwards, my body shivering as he rolls up my top to expose my stomach, pointing to something that I cannot comprehend. A medical kit is passed forwards, and Dimitri's soft fingers brush against my stomach gently.

I curse myself for shivering against his touch, but moan instead at the pain the shiver brings. He presses a bandage to my wound; where I was shot in the alley by the agent instead of Lissa or Christian, and for the first time in years I black out.

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**I'm too tired to write out a fight scene, and I'm not much good at them. So contrary to my note at the first chapter, there might not actually be lots of fight scenes in this story. Well detailed ones that explain everything that happens anyway.**

**But I hope you liked it! Now it's 10pm and I'm off to do some last minute revision! :D Please let me know what you thought of this chapter! xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**2/3 exams done! I stressed out and stressed out over today's one; only to find that it was worth 6 marks. 6 MARKS! It's absolutely crazy, and our teachers been trying to frighten us about it for the past two weeks, only to find that it was worth 6 marks! :'(**

**I wanted this chapter to be A LOT longer, but my brains practically dead; and this is all I've been able to do over the past 2 days. So I will update either tomorrow or Saturday morning, depending on how much I can get done during my frees at college. But I'm done waffling now, so here's the next chapter! :):):) with a bit of the ass kicking you wanted to see!**

**One more thing! There are two very special authors on this site whose stories I'd like to ask you to check out; shadowkissed586 and Lois Rose Lane. They are both amazingly talented and have two brilliant stories on here! So please, please, please read and review them! xx**

**This one is for; the anonymous reviewer – the first person to read and review this story! Thank you so much, and for continuing to read it up til now! xx**

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_Beep. Beep. Beep._

I wake up to see bright lights and blurred faces. Groaning, I blink a few more times, and as the picture before me comes into focus, I jerk away from the person seated beside the bed in disgust; trying to yank out the needles attached to my body.

"Rose! Rose! Stop!"

Large hands try to catch my wrists; but I jerk back, twisting out of his grip. "Let go of me! Let me go!"

"Rose stop!" He starts to yell for the nurse; and that is when I recognise his voice and stop struggling. He looks down at me surprised, that I have actually done as he asked, but then flinches back under my furious gaze.

He opens his mouth to speak as the nurse; well one of the agents who's 'medically trained' decides to poke her head round the door. "Is everything okay in here agent Belikov? Do you need help?"

I answer before he can. "Everything's fine, thank you."

"Okay, I'll get the doctor to come and see you Miss. Hathaway."

As soon as the door closes I am on him. I leap out of the bed, the last of the needles pulling free from my skin as we topple to the floor. My hands ripping at his hair, scratching his face; trying to quite literally rip his skin from his bones. It's not enough, and so I crank my fist back before letting it smash into his nose. The sickening crack makes me smile, and I do it again over and over; the rage inside of me making it impossible for him to fight back.

"Rose, stop… please!"

"I promised you! I wrote it on that goddamned wall so everyone could see it! 'If I ever see you again, I'll make sure to repay the favour!' Didn't you turn up at the flat after you screwed me over!"

"Rose please… I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't good enough! What the hell can _sorry_ do to fix things?"

"I didn't mean t-" I punch him in the mouth before continuing to shriek.

"Don't lie to me! How can you _still_ lie to my face? But then again, I guess you've had months of practice haven't you." He doesn't answer. "Haven't you!"

He stopped yelling and tried to throw me off again; but the anger and hurt and betrayal kept pouring out of me through a flurry of punches. I wanted, no, I _needed_ him to feel what I'd felt. The shame. The embarrassment. Loneliness. Vulnerability. Fear. It all comes out and I don't realise that I am crying until my breath starts to hitch, ruining my breathing patterns.

Angry with him at making me cry, my hands slide down to his throat, to choke the life out of him. "I old you that I'd break your heart in return… but I don't have anything to do it with. So I'll have to choke you instead." And my hands squeeze round his neck tighter as he grips at my wrists, trying to loosen my hold enough to speak.

"Roza, please… I'm sorry…" And as his grip starts to weaken, strong hands grab at my arms and waist trying to yank me off of his bruised and bloody body.

"Oh look, the cavalry's here to save you." I release him, and my restrainers stumble back, taking me with them. "Next time, you're mine Belikov. And I'll have my knife, so they won't be able to save you."

Something sharp pierces my arm, and my world fades to black once more.

….

This continues for days, weeks even. I wake up to find an agent by my bedside or in the room somewhere, and I kick their asses before their friends come in to save them. Then they give me a shot of whatever tranquiliser it is they use, and I black out again.

...

_I wanted you to be there when I fall  
I wanted you to see me through it all  
I wanted you to be the one I love  
I wanted you, I wanted you  
I wanted you to hold me in my sleep  
I wanted you to show me what I need  
I wanted you to know just how down deep  
I wanted you, I wanted you_

_I wanted you – Ina._

Groggily, I open my eyes. Glancing around I see that I am not in a medical room any more, chained to the bed head. Instead, I am seated in an interrogation room alone. Looking down, I can see that I'm dressed in black joggers and a t-shirt, plimsolls on my feet. Patting down my body, I can tell that all of my weapons are gone, presumable locked away in a safe room on the opposite side of the building. I stand up cautiously, in case they're planning some sort of secret attack, but no one jumps out from behind the door or mirror. No tranquiliser darts fly out of hidden compartments in the walls. There is one window, built into the wall; and one door, locked. The mirror is no doubt similar to the ones used in police stations; behind it is a viewing room for them to see what happens to me without risk of getting injured.

I'm tempted to run up and kick it, just t try and make them jump in fright, but today I am too tired. Not physically but emotionally. I'm emotionally drained and fed up with violence. All I want is to see Lissa again, and know that she's okay. I found out the first few times that she's too far away for me to reach; and so all I can do is pray that she's too far away for them to find.

So I work on my escape. Circling the room, I let my fingers trail every inch of the wall. My eyes travel the floor, until I'm sure that none of it has gone unnoticed. But I am trapped. So I sigh and sit back at the table, placing my head in my hands sullenly.

Behind me the door opens, and I tense; but don't move. The person enters cautiously, fearful in case I try to attack them like I have all the times before; but I don't move. I'm done fighting, and simply want to get out. They walk up to me slowly, and the chair opposite me scrapes as they pull it away from the table and sit.

"Roza." Again, my back tenses, but I do not move. "Roza. Rose?" His voice is wary, unsure… and scared?

"What Dimitri?" My voice is a whisper, weary of being trapped and used.

He clears his throat slightly before continuing. "I brought you some food. You haven't eaten properly for the past three weeks, I mean, the IV's have given you the nutrition you need, but it's not the same…" He trails off, the once comfortable silence between us now forced and fragile.

I lift my head and look at the tray he's brought in. An apple, banana, packet of cornflakes and a carton of milk with a bowl and spoon, some sort of yoghurt, a bottle of water, some juice and a sandwich all clustered together. I sigh and reach out, picking up the apple and wiping it on my top before biting into it. We continue to sit in silence whilst I eat the food on the tray before washing it down with the drink.

When I'm done, I push the tray away back into the middle of the table and meet his face. His eyes are sad, and apologetic; but just the sight of his warm brown eyes, and remembering the way they used to look at me sends a pang into my heart and makes my throat catch. "Thank you for the food."

"It's okay. You needed to eat; I just wanted to make sure you got something proper. Some of the other agents are still a bit… angry about getting beaten by an eigh- nineteen year old."

"And you aren't? The sarcastic reply slips out before I can stop it, and he smiles slightly.

"No."

I glance up at him shocked, before dropping his gaze. He sighs sadly under his breath, but continues anyway. "I deserved every beating, every kick, every punch that you gave me and more. I broke your trust, and hurt you… and for that I'm so sorry Rose. More than you could ever imagine. I don't know how to make it up to you, I can't apologise enough; and I know that you'll never be able to hurt me enough in return for what I did to you… But I am sorry Rose."

That makes me look up. "No you're not." He looks at me startled as I get out of my chair and move away slightly. "If you were, you wouldn't have done it. You had six months to change your mind, to come clean and admit what you were doing. Doing this job, you knew about me; and how rare it is for me to let someone in. You tried to warn me at the start; before we had sex, but you never tried to stop it afterwards. I would have understood, would maybe have even tried to work something out between us… but you didn't stop it. I'm guessing you were having second thoughts, but not about having sex. It was about doing this job, because you knew what it would do in the long run. And even afterwards, when you went to get your clothes you could have left and never come back. I'd have accepted it as a one-night thing and moved on. But you came back. Time and again. Every night for six months. And then-"

My voice catches and he opens his mouth to reply, but I press on, needing to release all my pent-up thoughts and feelings. To finally let him hear everything. "And then I fell in love with you. And I tried to stop it, tried to stop myself knowing that I might need to leave. But it happened anyway, and I was so happy. For the first time in years, I was happy for myself. And I told you that I loved you, and everything just felt a million time better. I had companionship, friendship, love, happiness… all those mushy things that I used to laugh at. But for that one day, it was real. Complete."

His face looks pained, like his heart is breaking; and my heart clenches with the thought that I am hurting him, but he needs to know. "And you lied. Told me that you were going on a trip, when it was really a cover for you meeting with your supervisor. That hurt Dimitri. It broke my heart in two; and even now, six months later it still hurts as though it's only just happened. I couldn't and still can't understand how I didn't see it. How I didn't notice. And I was doing crazy stupid thing like imagining a wedding and kids… all things that I'd never, _ever_ considered before. Lissa's always been the focus in my life. If she's safe, I'm fine… But for a while back there, you were both tied in first place in my heart."

I finish, and wait for his reaction, meeting his gaze for the first time since I started to talk. As the silence holds and deepens, I wrap my arms around my chest; hugging myself to comfort my aching heart. But nothing comes out of his mouth. He seems completely stunned at the intensity of my feelings. Then sadness crosses is face once more and he stands slowly. I hug myself tighter as moves towards the door, but once he gets there, he turns to face me again, conflict clear to see across his features. "I'm sorry Roza."

* * *

**Again, I'm sorry that it's so short! But I hope that you liked it anyway, and I'm already starting on the next chapter. Please let me know what you thought! Xx**


	8. Chapter 8

**And here's the next part! :) **

**Thank you to: UnderworldVampirePrincess, the anonymous reviewer, rivereq, , laineylane03, vampireacademy101, Badass Hathaway, saraiibelikov, DimkasRoza, Twilighernproud, **

**redglasses, loveyy10, Nefarious1972, talkygirl, DakRomanceAddict, snowdrop0594, vox ad umbram sum, Xoxo Vampire Lover oxoX, ChellaVampa, IHeartVA, Rachel-rob-Sandwich, addicted2reading28, **

**lovethefang, CullenCovenGirl88, 1-with-the-SakuraBlossoms, IloveCeci, soccaplayet71, pandabear, iluvbooks379, Cherrygirl320, lynnHathaway, mmmm, i-bit-a-pillow-or-two and –x-moonlightvampire-x-.**

**I want to dedicate each chapter of this story to someone, but there won't be enough chapters. :'( So this chapter is dedicated to: UnderworldVampirePrincess, , vampireacademy101, Twilighternproud, redglasses, talkygirl and DarkRomanceAddict for being my top reviewers! xx**

* * *

_'Cause when the roof caved in and the truth came out  
I just didn't know what to do_

_Mmm whatcha say?  
Mmm that you only meant well?  
Well of course you did  
Mmm whatcha say?_

_Mmm that it's all for the best?_

_Of course it is._

How could I live with myself  
Knowing that I let our love go?  
And ooh, what I'd do for one chance  
I just gotta let you know

I know what I did wasn't clever  
But me and you were meant to be together  
So let me in  
(Let me in)  
Give me another chance  
(Another chance)  
To really be your man

_Whatcha say – Jason Derulo._

Dimitri POV.

It's been a month since Roza was shot by the agent. We found his body in the alleyway outside of the restaurant, along with some bullet casings that didn't belong to his gun or Roza's. They matched the two bullets that we found inside his chest; and now we know that either Miss. Dragomir or Mr. Ozera have a weapon, and know how to use it. But we're no closer to finding them, and Rose won't help. Of course she won't help us.

For the past week, all the fight seems to have left her; but she refuses to help us locate Miss. Dragomir. Despite the fact that The Academy holds all the cards, she still has the prize we want; and is the only one who can find the young lady we need to protect. I'm the one sent into her room everyday, with her breakfast, lunch, or dinner; and the aim of it is to get her to answer our questions. But she steadfastly refuses. She's polite, but distant, and silent. My Roza, once so bubbly and full of life is now a mere shadow of herself. She's escorted to the bathroom twice a day to shower; but she doesn't sing anymore. She stares out of the window; but doesn't hum, or make up stories about the people below. She's not Rose.

And I can't forgive myself. The guilt and sick feeling is eating away at me inside, and I'm pretty sure The Academy knows. They don't like failure, and though we have Rose, she's a small concession. I think that's why they keep sending me in to see her; its part of my punishment, to see the woman I love trapped in the place she hates, wasting away. But I don't know how to get her out, and she won't talk to me. I come into the room and give her her meal. She eats the food silently, and when she's done, I'll try to talk to her. All I need to hear is her voice, like it was when I met her; but now all she does is look at me with her huge hazel eyes, and then turn her head away. The message comes through loud and clear: 'I don't want anything to do with you, so stop torturing me and move on.'

But I can't. I'm in love with her, and this is a punishment far worse than death; because although I can reach her, I can't reach her. She is unattainable. Distant. Alone.

…...

It's been another two weeks; and Kirova the head of The Academy is rapidly losing her patience. To be honest, I'm surprised that she's held out so long; but as soon as the note is delivered to my room, I know it's time for my punishment.

The walk down to the holding cell is long and lonely. I know that this has been coming ever since the operation went under. Ever since Rose found out because she found me. Once I reach the door I take a deep breath before knocking and entering.

As soon as I enter the room, all the emotion is gone from my face. Alberta is in there, no doubt pleading my case; trying to convince Kirova that it's not really my fault. That with a few more days I can get her the results she wants. But Kirova has given me long enough and it is time for me to pay the price.

"Petrov. Go." Those two words filled with power, make Alberta halt whatever pleas she'd thought of. Her face turns smooth and unreadable like mine, but as she catches my eye on the way out, I can see the sadness lying underneath the surface. I nod to her slightly, a minuscule notion of thanks, thanks that she at least tried; and turn my gaze back to Kirova.

"Dimitri Belikov."

"Yes ma'am." For a moment she looks sad, but the emotion is gone just as quickly as it appears.

"You were assigned to find Rosemarie Hathaway, and to retrieve Miss. Dragomir. Though you did indeed find them both, which counts in your favour, you did not complete your task. The Academy dos not accept failure of any sort, and so, you must pay the price." I nod, and she nods back, walking towards the door. But before she leaves, she turns back to face me; some genuine emotion in her eyes, though her voice remains professional. "I'm sorry that this has to happen Belikov. You're a promising young agent, so don't let me down again. Think of this as your inspiration the next time you go to see Miss. Hathaway." Then she leaves and the agents walk in.

There are three of them, hired especially for this purpose. To discipline agents who fail. I already know what's coming; and sit in the chair in the middle of the room. I've never been in here before; but rumours of previous agents have spread through the ranks. So I close my eyes, and let the beating begin.

…...

The next day I wake up in my bed, sore and bruised. I passed out from the pain after two hours; and have no recollection of making my own way back to my room, which means they must have brought me up after I passed out.

I gasp slightly as I try to sit up, and the mere ripple of my muscles sends shockwaves of agony throughout my body. As I contemplate simply lying in my bed, knowing that another agent will take Rose her food instead, my phone starts to ring. Groaning, I reach out, ignoring the protests from my muscles; and answer it. "Dimitri? Oh thank God. Are you okay?" The worry and concern pours out of Alberta's voice soothing me through the phone.

"I'm okay Alberta. I just ache all over. I'll be better if I sleep it off for a few hours."

There is an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds, before she speaks sounding as though she were speaking through tears. "I'm sorry that I couldn't help or change her mind Dimitri. I'm sorry that I couldn't stop you from that."

"It's not your fault Alberta. Honestly. Thank you for trying anyway, even though it could have gotten you in trouble."

"Of course Dimitri."

"Can you please ask someone else to take Rose her food today? I really need to sleep this off." That uncomfortable silence starts again.

"Dimitri… You have to go and do it. Kirova ordered it. I don't know why she's turned so harsh all of a sudden, but…"

"Orders are orders. Thanks Alberta, I know it's not your fault."

We say a brief goodbye, and then I haul my body out of the bed. Every movement aches, and takes me three times as long; but I have to do as I'm told. So I stagger into the bathroom, wincing when I catch sight of my reflection in the mirror.

My body is a mass of black and blue; almost like a patchwork quilt, and from the soreness in my legs I can guess that they look exactly the same. The left side of my face is relatively unharmed, but running from my right temple down to the bottom of my jaw is a red, angry looking bruise; that throbs when I brush my teeth.

Stretching slightly to try and get rid of the soreness in my back, I feel a strange tenderness, that's different to my bruises. Frowning, I turn my back to the mirror, to see hundreds of thin red lines; interlinking and overlapping, covering my back. They're as thin as paper cuts, but different somehow. I stretch again, and a few of them reopen and start to bleed. 'Inspiration' to get the job done right.

…...

I take a deep breath before pushing open the door to Rose's room. My arms are crying out for rest, after carrying her tray from the dining room. There had been silence as soon as I walked in, everyone noticing the marks across my face and neck; the messy way that I was dressed seeing as it was too painful to move and secure everything, understanding what must have happened straight away. There were looks of pity and sadness, but I didn't catch anyone's eyes as I crossed to get her tray, or as I left. Walking up to her room, I wanted to put the tray down for a minute, just to give my body a brief respite; but there is an agent following me, making sure that I do not stop. And out of fear at getting beaten again, I do not stop. Until I reach Rose's door.

There, I place the tray on the ground for a few minutes while I fumble with the locks; my aching muscles sighing happily, and groaning once more when I have to lift the tray again.

She doesn't look up when I enter the room; but like usual, she is seated at the table, ready for her meal. Like always, I place the tray in front of her and sit down; but this time when she's finished I do not try to make idle chatter. My face aches, and it hurts to talk. So I want to make the conversation as short as possible. Ask her the questions, see if she answers and then leave.

She looks up in surprise when I do not speak, but I do not meet her eyes. Instead I keep my gaze trained on the clipboard and paper held in my hands. I have left my hair loose, and as I stare at the paper I try to lean my face forwards so that my hair covers the bruise. But Rose is observant, and she knows that something is wrong.

"Dimitri? What's wrong?" Her voice is hesitant, worried at starting the conversation. But I glance up quickly to try and reassure her, briefly meeting her eyes before shaking my head.

"It's nothing. I just need to ask you these questions and I'll be out of your hair. Do you know where Miss. Dragomir may be hidden?"

"Dimitri." Her voice, though quiet, stays firm.

"Please Rose." My voice is a whisper, begging her to simply drop the subject. "Please just... just leave it. You already hate me and anything to do with my job; so you don't need to worry about it."

There's no answer, but she stands and moves her chair so that she is seated next to me. I tense, but don't move as she leans over to brush some of the hair out of my face. And I hear the sharp intake of breath as she sees the bruise. "What… what happened."

"Nothing. It doesn't matter."

"It doesn't look like nothing. Who did this to you?" There is a spark of something, similar to anger, in her voice. And though my heart wants to hold tight to that thought, my mind knows that there is no way Rose will ever feel anything for me again. So I push away her imaginary concern, trying to make my voice business like and professional.

"Really Rose. I'll be fine. Please answer the question. Do you know where Miss. Dragomir may be hidden?"

"No. I'm not answering until you tell me what happened."

And despite her giving me a way to get the answers I need, I don't want to trick them out of her. She's loyal to Miss. Dragomir and Mr. Ozera; and I respect that. I respect her too much to trick her again. Though it was part of my job, she was right when she said that I didn't have to stay, didn't have to keep lying for six months.

I sighed and let rest my head in my hands; defeat resting heavy on my shoulders. "I failed."

There's silence for a moment, and then her fingertips brush my hair away from my face and run down my back. Fire follows in their wake, a good fire reminiscent of the flames I felt when we were happy together. But the feel of her fingers makes my muscles tense to keep their control; and a slight hiss slips from between my teeth as the sore skin is stretched across my back from the movement. She hears, and pauses for a second, before reaching down to the hem of my shirt and lifting it.

She gasps slightly, and I turn to face her; seeing the horror plastered across her face as she stares at my back. After a minute or two, she seems to overcome her shock, because her gaze rises to meet mine. In that moment, I can see so many different emotions it's overwhelming. Sadness, pity, hurt, shock, disgust, compassion and a slight hint of understanding.

She runs her fingers over my back once more before murmuring "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." My voice is just as soft. Then I realise what's happened, how close we're sitting; and stand up abruptly, startling her. "We'll skip the questioning for today."

And I leave before she can call me back.

* * *

**I'm sorry it's so short :'( I just haven't been able to make the last couple of chapters (or this one) longer :( Anyway, the next chapter should be up either tomorrow or Sunday! Please let me know what you thought of this one. xx**


	9. Chapter 9

**This chapter is for everyone who's favourited this story: UnderworldVampirePrincess, rivereq, , laineylane03, saraiibelikov, Twilighternproud, redglasses, Nefarious1972, talkygirl, snowdrop0594, Xoxo Vampire Lover oxoX, ChellaVampa, IHeartVA, Rachel-rob-Sandwich, addicted2reading28, lovethefang, 1-with-the-SakuraBlossoms, IloveCeci, soccaplayer71, Cherrygirl320, lynnHathaway, i-bit-a-pillow-or-two, -x-moonlightvampire-x-, Angel of love3142, ****XXXDimitrixRozaXXX, I AM ROSE HATHAWAY, D., SWEmicca, lovedimitri, miti1, Farmer Joe-Gothic-Fairy, Kadiem02 and Alkerr.**

* * *

_What's up?  
I know we haven't spoken for a while  
But I was thinkin' bout you  
And it kinda made me smile  
So many things to say  
And I'll put 'em in a letter  
Thought it might be easier  
The words might come out better  
How's your mother, how's your little brother?  
Does he still look just like you?  
So many things I wanna know the answers to  
Wish I could press rewind  
And rewrite every line  
To the story of me and you_

_Don't you know I've tried and I've tried_  
_To get you out my mind_  
_But it don't get no better_  
_As each day goes by_  
_And I'm lost and confused_  
_I've got nothin' to lose_  
_Hope to hear from you soon_  
_P.S. I'm still not over you_  
_Still not over you_

_Excuse me, I really didn't mean to ramble on_  
_But there's a lot of feelings that remain since you've been gone_  
_I guess you thought that I would put it all behind me_  
_But it seems there's always somethin' right there to remind me_  
_Like a silly joke, or somethin' on the TV_  
_Boy it ain't easy_  
_When I hear our song_  
_I get that same old feeling_  
_Wish I could press rewind_  
_Turn back the hands of time_  
_And I shouldn't be telling you_

_P.S (I'm still not over you) – Rihanna.__  
_

Rose POV.

My mind is spinning as Dimitri leaves, well runs, from the room. I knew that working for these sorts of agencies had a high price; but I'd never have imagined that they treated their employees so harshly. Sure, when they completed their assignments and tasks well, they were given huge bonuses and things; but to beat them, as a punishment for not completing or succeeding… well Dimitri not coming clean certainly made a lot more sense.

He'd been assigned to find Lissa, and the only way to do that was by finding me. He probably hadn't known what he was getting himself into, neither of us had; and by the time we realised what a mistake we'd made… it was too late. The damage was done. And now, well they had me; but no Lissa. Technically, he'd failed. And they'd beaten him for it.

I'd noticed the slight desperation that grew in his eyes and voice with every day that passed, but it only fuelled my need to try and piss him and The Academy off as much as possible. That and the fact that there was no way in hell I'd ever rat Lissa out. But I could have helped. I could have answered one of his questions, even if it was with a fake answer. At least then he could have said to his boss that he'd made some headway, that I'd started to respond.

But I'd stubbornly kept my mouth shut. Ignored the fact that he brought me good food everyday. I knew he was ordered to bring me my meals, but there'd been a couple of times when he hadn't done it, and another agent had taken his place. Then all I'd get was a small sandwich and a bottle of water. To last me the entire day. At least Dimitri tried to make sure that I was treated decently. But I hadn't done the same back to him. He'd never threatened or forced me into giving him answers. He'd let me make my own choices and respected them; and had even tried to make my life in this little room a bit more bearable. I wasn't allowed any reading material, or radios or phones; so he'd make idle chatter before he asked me the questions. He'd let me know what was happening on the news and TV shows we used to watch; and the aim of it was to stop me from going crazy, not to try and lure me into a sense of false security.

He was sorry for what he'd done; and now, after seeing his punishment, I could understand now why he'd done it. Yes, it still stung when I thought of him betraying me; but if I was in his place, would I have done differently? Knowing what the consequences were for not doing as I was told? And again, the image of his strong face marred by that angry looking bruise; and the sight of his back, knife marks covering every inch of skin, flashes through my mind. I honestly cannot believe that they can be so cruel to their own.

But what does this mean for my feelings? Like I'd told him yesterday, there was still a lot of hurt in my heart over what he'd done. But having this information had removed most of it. I still cared for him, which surprised me; and when I'd first seen the bruise and he'd told me it was nothing I hadn't been able to stop the anger that coloured my voice. Anger towards whoever laid their hands on him to leave those marks. Dimitri hadn't seemed to notice; but I had. That urge to protect him again had flared up, similar to his reaction towards the agent who body slammed me before I'd been caught.

Was it possible that I still liked deeply, or maybe even loved Dimitri? If Lissa was here, she'd tell me that yes, I did love Dimitri. That I'd fallen head over heels for him before I found out who he was; and that that kind of love didn't go away over time. Agent Dimitri wasn't all that different from 'teacher' Dimitri. In fact, thinking about it, he was exactly the same. Which meant, he hadn't been acting during the six months that we'd been together. I'd fallen in love with the real Dimitri Belikov; not a character he'd made up. But did that mean that he hadn't been acting his feelings either? Or were they as fake as his teaching job?

I sigh, not able to reach a conclusion; and as my gaze flicks over the room, something shiny catches my eye. Trying to make my movements as natural as possible, so that I don't alert whoever's watching the cameras, I stretch my foot out until it is directly over the object. Then I slowly drag it back into my body. Lying down on the floor, as if I am bored, I am able to shield the object from sight; and can look at it without caution.

It is a small switchblade, the blade no bigger than the palm of my hand, but large enough to be effective. It must have been dropped by Dimitri without him realising, his injuries stopping him from dressing properly this morning. But a flash of hope flows through me, as I try to hide the blade in the waistband of my trousers. Hopefully, no one has seen.

…...

Another agent brings me my lunch and dinner. There are three of them, but they make no references to the switchblade; so I can assume that there are three because they're too scared to come in alone. The thought of these three beefy men being frightened of me makes me giggle slightly, and they look at me as if I've gone crazy. Maybe I have, the stress of this situation finally driving me round the bend.

After the light is switched off, I curl up in the bed they have provided, unable to sleep. My mind is whirling, confused about the state of my emotions towards Dimitri. He didn't come up before the lights went out to try and question me again; and his absence makes me worry. Are they beating him again? Is he in trouble because I saw his back? Does he hate me because of what they did to him? That last thought shocks me; and I realise that I don't want Dimitri to hate me. I don't want him to hold any sort of bad feelings towards me. But it would be understandable if he held me responsible for all the damage to his perfect body.

I worry and worry, scared that something bad might have happened, before exhaustion takes me over and I drift into an uneasy sleep.

…...

When I wake up in the morning the truth is clear to see. I still love Dimitri, still care about him; but my heart is wary, scared that it will get hurt again. But the dream flashes through my mind again, and the terrible choice that I faced makes me face my fears head on. I love him, and I accept that. My fear is that he won't feel the same. After a month of being ignored, will he have given up?

I shower quickly, eager to get back to my room to get my breakfast; and more importantly to see Dimitri. But when I get back, he's not there. My heart sinks for a second, then rises when I see that the tray isn't there either; which means he hasn't been yet. So I sit at the table, my foot jiggling anxiously as I wait for him to arrive. But when he does finally enter, the words falter and dry up in my mouth.

Dimitri has entered the room, but he is steadfastly refusing to meet my gaze. The bruise covering the right side of his face has darkened to a purplish black colour; and looks sore. From the way that he's moving, the rest of his body seems tender too; and the image of his cut back and bruised chest re-enters my mind. Alberta enters after him, worry and concern clear to see across her face. But my focus is on the last woman to enter the room. Two agents who resemble bodybuilders flank her, their eyes darting around the room every few seconds. Obviously hired protection.

Her face is thin, all sharp angles; making her appear haughty and cold. Her hair is brushed back from her face, in a business like bob; grey starting to win against her natural colour. She is thin and dressed in a pinstripe suit; small heels giving the impression that she is an average height. My gaze flicks to Dimitri once more, noticing the tense, worried look across his face and my fears spike. Now is not the time to profess my love, it is the time to watch my back and be careful.

They sit at the table; Dimitri on the left side, Alberta on the right; and the lady opposite to me. I am sitting with my back to the window, furthest from the door; and the two men split up, one moving to watch the door and the other staying by her side. Once they are all in place she begins to talk.

"Miss Hathaway?"

"Yes?"

"Good, I wanted to ensure that we had the correct person; since you've been so uncooperative with us. I am Kirova. Head agent at The Academy. This is agent Petrov; and agent Belikov." She gestures to each of them in turn, and I nod curtly; not really wanting to talk to her. This woman gives me the creeps; and anger is staring to rise in me, knowing that she probably gave the order for Dimitri to be beaten. "Now, there seems to have been a slight misunderstanding. I'm sure that you're aware of the events that lead to you being held here, and why we cannot let you go. Agent Belikov was assigned to find you, and through finding you to retrieve Miss. Dragomir."

My eyes narrowed, realising that she was trying to remind me of everything that Dimitri had done, to remove any lingering feelings, and make me truly hate him. And by bringing them up, she would make him feel even more ashamed and guilty, which would make him pull away. Then there'd be no hope for either of us. "I understand everything that's taken place. My memory's not faulty. What do you want? Since you're the head of this whole operation I'm sure you've got better things to do. People to beat." My voice had gotten colder and colder as my anger rose.

She seemed shocked at me knowing what had happened to Dimitri; but then nodded, as if she was figuring something out in her head. "You're right Miss. Hathaway, and I'll get straight to the point. We need to know where Miss. Dragomir is. You know, and you're going to tell us."

"No I'm not."

Her face hardened and her gaze locked with mine. "Yes you will. Where is she? If you don't know exactly, what sort of area would she go to?"

"None of your goddamned business. I know exactly what you want with her; and that's not going to happen. So fuck off."

"This is your last chance Miss. Hathaway." I glanced out of the corner of my eye, and saw what appeared like a pleading look on Alberta's face. Dimitri's seemed resigned and sad; which made me hesitate in telling her to go away as colourfully as possible. Dimitri's bruise was in my peripheral vision, and I realised that he might get blamed for this meeting going wrong.

"She's somewhere on the South Coast. Or she might have headed to Mexico. It's cheaper there."

Shock is clear to see on all their faces; and immediately, the goon standing by the door muttered something into his earpiece. There's silence for a few minutes until someone replies to him, and he passes the message onto Kirova. Her face shows her displeasure, and my heart sinks. "I don't like being lied to Miss. Hathaway. They haven't been sighted anywhere near to Mexico or the South Coast. In fact only a week ago they were spotted near to Canada. Since her bank account hasn't been activated, I'd say that she needs to save as much money as possible; which means she doesn't have enough cash on her to travel all the way down to the South Coast. Unless she hitchhiked, which would take weeks."

She stands and collects her papers "I'll just be outside a minute. Maybe you'll remember something and tell agent Petrov or Belikov."

She leaves and I stare at the table. Someone sighs gently before speaking. "Roza. I know you don't want to betray Miss. Dragomir; but isn't there anything that you can tell us? No matter how insignificant, just something. Kirova is not a patient woman; and she'll get the results she wants. If she wants that information, she'll get it; and I'd rather you gave it to us now than suffer through some of her methods."

The concern in his voice makes me want to cry; but the words that come out of my mouth aren't the ones I'd intended to use. "Did she do that to you?" My voice is gentle; but the minute I've finished speaking he drops my gaze, knowing what I'm referring to.

"It doesn't matter Rose."

"It matters to me! Did she do it?" He stares up at me, shocked at the anger evident in my voice. I'm surprised too, surprised that I'd admitted that I still cared about what happened to him.

"Not her personally, but she ordered it. That's why I don't want you to get on her bad side. You shouldn't have to go through this as well."

Before I can reply, the door opens again and Kirova enters. "Well Miss. Hathaway. Has anything suddenly come to mind?"

My mouth is hanging open, while I desperately try to think up something, anything that will make this situation better for all of us.

"No? Ok. Seeing as I'm in a generous mood today, I'll give you the rest of the night to think about it. Belikov, I need to speak to you down in holding cell six. Jesse, Ralf; you can go and start setting up. Petrov, you are excused."

The panicked look Alberta sends me as she stands makes my heart clench in fear. But by the time I open my mouth to protest, the room is empty.

_Wake up one morning you realize  
Your life is one big compromise  
Stuck in the job you swore was only temporary_

_Feel like the world is passing you by_  
_Never done all the things you would need to try_  
_Stuck in a place, got a pain in your face from all your stressin' out_

_You ask yourself there's got to be more than what I'm living for_  
_You ask yourself there's got to be something else, something more, more, more_

_Well let the sun shine on your face_  
_And don't let your life go to waste_  
_Now is the time, got to make up your mind_  
_Let it shine on you, let it shine on you_

_Shine – Laura Izibor.__  
_

Dimitri POV.

I'm going to get out of this job. As soon as Kirova's done teaching me another lesson I'm going to take Rose and run. I'd seen the panic cross Rose's face when Kirova re-entered the room, and my heart had lifted because she was going to try and save herself. That knowledge, and the small bubble of hope from the protective edge in her voice made me feel like I was flying.

But Kirova hadn't given her enough time to think, and I'd panicked thinking she was going to hurt Rose. If that had happened I would have given myself up. Taken Rose's place and her punishment. But I hadn't needed to. Kirova had heard the protective edge in Rose's voice, and was going to exploit it.

As I neared the door, I tried to mentally prepare myself for what could be waiting for me. But I have no idea what to expect, and like my mother says; I need to just face my fears head on and get them out of the way. So I take one more deep breath, and push the door open.

Rose POV.

It's been two hours, and I'm going crazy. The panicked look that Alberta sent me. The resigned and slightly scared look Dimitri had worn. The cunning gleam in Kirova's eye. All three expressions keep running round and round my mind, until finally I cannot take it anymore. I kick off the covers and stalk over to the door, trying to piece it all together whilst attempting to pick the lock. I don't care about the cameras; I just need to get out of this room, find Dimitri, and make sure he's okay.

Kirova must have heard something to use to her advantage, that's the only explanation for her expression. Dimitri was called down to the holding cells; and when Kirova said that, that's when Alberta seemed worried. But why? And as it all clicks into place, guilt rises in the back of my throat. Dimitri failed. Again. And she's going to teach him a lesson.

More urgently I work on the lock; fear making me slip and miss a few times. Until finally, there's a small click, followed by three or four more, all in succession. Sometimes technology does have its uses, such as only needing to pick one lock to unlock them all.

I poke my head outside of the door to see the corridor silent and empty. Slipping out quickly, I pull the door shut behind me and bolt it again, before heading towards what looks like a set of stairs.

It's a lucky guess; and as I walk down them to what will hopefully be the holding cells, I plait my hair so it's out of the way; and try to tighten the t-shirt I'm in so that if it comes down to a fight I can't be grabbed.

I don't meet anyone until I get four floors down. A young, male agent, kind of geeky looking, steps out a couple of flights below me, talking on his cell. The attention of these agents is disgusting, as he doesn't notice me sneaking up from behind. As soon as the conversation finishes, my knife is at his throat, my other arm pinning his arms behind his back. "The holding cells, where are they?"

He whimpers, a real tough guy, and manages to stammer out "In the basement."

"Well then, let's go for a little trip."

…...

Once we arrive at the entrance to the cells, and he has opened the door for me, I yank him around the corner and slit his throat. It is messy, and sad; but it needs to be done. Knocking him out won't last long enough; and I can't take any risks. So I make the cut as quick as possible, knowing he'll be dead before he hits the floor. Hopefully, he won't be found, or missed, until I've escaped with Dimitri.

Blade in hand, I slip through the doors once more; hurrying towards the one at the end. Number six.

There is a sharp cracking sound, and then silence. I press my ear to the door to try and gauge what's happening inside, and after another minute, the cracking sound is made again. I slip the agents card into the slot, and hear the satisfying click as the door opens. But the sight that I'm met with makes me want to gag with horror.

Dimitri is in there, chained by his wrists to the wall. Similarly to the way the used to chain prisoners in dungeons. His top is on the floor, close to the door; and standing a few metres in front of me is one of the gorms from upstairs. But he doesn't hold my attention; and neither does the other gorm with the whip in his hand.

I am focused solely on Dimitri, who is panting slightly, his forehead leaning against the wall as his legs start to give way. The whip cracks down on his back again, drawing blood, and I jump from the inhumanity of it. The jerk standing closest to me shouts at him to stand up; and I watch as Dimitri tries and struggles to straighten his legs. His back is stained red from the blood pouring out of the long, ragged cuts across his once smooth tanned skin. He can't stand, and the whip cracks down on him, drawing yet another torturous line across his back.

The gorm yells at him once more, and the whip cracks down again; over and over and over, each time cutting him in a fresh place. And when I hear the slight cry of pain that emits from Dimitri's mouth and the gorms _smile_ my temper snaps. I lunge forwards, and the blade is through the guy's back before he even realises what's happened. He lets out a strangled gurgle, before slumping to the ground; and I yank the blade out before flipping him over and plunging it into his chest repeatedly. He gurgles in pain a couple more times before his body stops twitching, and he is still.

The other gorm has noticed, and is staring at me open mouthed. The whip lays forgotten in his hand, and I jump up off of the dead guy to head towards him. He panics for a second, before trying to run. The adrenaline running through me, the pent up energy, and the anger at what they have done to Dimitri gives me the burst of speed to catch him and my knife strikes again; slower this time, so he can feel some of what he has just executed on Dimitri.

Eventually, he too, is dead; and I yank the keys off his belt before rushing over to Dimitri. He is breathing heavily, sweat coating his face. His eyes are squeezed shut, and as he hears me approach, it breaks my heart to hear him beg. "Please, no more. I'll do whatever you want… just make it stop…"

"It's okay, it's only me. We've got to get you out of here." He yelps slightly at my voice, before recognising who I am, and turning to face me with disbelief clear to see.

"Roza? What are y… I thought you hated m…. How did you get out?.."

A wry smile crosses my lips as I reach up to unlock his cuffs. "I'll explain it all later, but first we need to get out of here."

* * *

**So there was chapter nine! A lot more was supposed to happen, but I didn't realise just how long these few things would take! The next chapter should be up on Tuesday, I don't think I'll have the chance to finish the chapter by tomorrow evening. Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you thought of this chapter :) xx**


	10. Chapter 10

**I've been offered a place at Brunel University! :):):) I'm just so happy and over the moon; but then I had to go out so I couldn't finish this chapter the way I wanted to :'(**

**However, I don't think I'll be able to update until Friday night. I'm out every evening this week + I've got a exam on Thursday, so I'm a bit stressed, and I don't write well when I'm stressed. If I get a good chapter written, I'll update Friday, if not, it'll have to be Saturday or Sunday cos it's my mates 18****th**** on the Saturday. Sorry for the long wait! :'( **

* * *

_I gotta turn this car around  
I never should have left you there  
Boy this traffic is making me sick  
Boy I can't wait to have you near_

_I gotta hurry hurry hurry_  
_Now quick quick quick_  
_Just step on the gas cause I don't wanna miss this_  
_This opportunity will only come once in my life, my life_

_I gotta hurry hurry hurry_  
_Now quick quick quick_  
_Just step on the gas cause I don't wanna miss this_  
_See what your bringin me boy is priceless_  
_I gotta be out of my mind not to try this_

_Happiness – Alexis Jordan._

As soon as Dimitri's wrists were free he stumbled, but managed to right himself before he fell. I'd grabbed his shirt after I'd dealt with the two gorms, but I didn't really know what to do with it.

He was still leaning against the wall, but his eyes never left mine. "Why are you here? Helping me, I mean. I thought you hated me?"

And that stumped me. I'd envisioned telling Dimitri how I'd felt, in a much better scenario. Not one where he'd been beaten and I was covered in the blood of the three guys I'd just killed. So I did the only thing I could think of. I kissed him. Ever so gently, I stretched up onto my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his, trying to convey what I meant through the kiss. After a couple of seconds he started to respond, but then he broke it.

"I don't want to accuse you, or offend you Roza but I have to ask. Did Kirova put you up to this? I know that I have no right to ask if you're doing what I did to you, but I have to ask. Is this some form of further punishment?"

"No!" I hadn't expected him to jump to that sort of conclusion. "I just came to my senses, finally. It just took me a lot longer than it should have. I want to explain properly, but right now, we need to get out of here."

His eyes searched mine for a few seconds; burning through me as if they could see directly into my soul and know if I was telling the truth, before he nodded and held his hand out.

I grinned and linked my fingers through his, ready to sneak out of the room, but his slight chuckle stopped me. "What's so funny?"

Still smiling, he shook his head. "Though I do want to hold your hand Roza, I was hoping you'd give me my shirt back. Despite the fact that we're sneaking out, I think my back's pretty noticeable."

That made my face fall. For those few seconds, I'd forgotten about the state of his back, what my stubbornness had caused. He noticed, like always and reached out to stroke my cheek gently, wincing at the movement. "It's not your fault Roza. She would have ordered this, even if you had answered the question. It just wouldn't have happened today. As soon as they found Miss. Dragomir, I would have been punished for failing in the first place."

"But you didn't fail. How can they be so cruel? To beat and harm you for something you couldn't control."

"In the eyes of The Academy, I did. They're efficient, and this is why. We hope to be successful, because the rewards are good; but we also _need_ to be successful because we know what the consequences of failure are. It's like when you're a child. If you're good; your parents are happy, you're happy, everything goes well, and everything's fine. But when you're naughty, you need to be disciplined. 'Those who can't hear must feel.' (A.N. my mum always says that! :D ) And so, like naughty children we do."

"But it's still cruel. What just happened, in here... it was inhumane. It was a malicious act. Violence breeds violence, and doesn't accomplish anything."

He smiled sadly at me and stroked my cheek once more. "That may be true Roza; but it's still reality. And it gets them results. Only when people stop responding will the structure change. That's why we need to leave."

I nodded and handed his shirt over, helping him to dress since his back was still bleeding. He didn't make any noise, but every so often, I'd catch sight of him wincing, and apologise. Once his shirt was on, I buttoned it up and gave him a weak smile. "Ready to go?"

His face was strangely vulnerable for a moment, but then he nodded and took my hand. "As ready as I'll ever be. Thank you, for giving me this chance. To start afresh... with everything."

I gave him a brief smile, and then we left.

...

We managed to get up from the holding cells to the second floor without any trouble. We snuck up the stairs that I'd used to find Dimitri the first time, but the blood had already soaked through his shirt and was starting to drip onto the floor. His face was starting to show the first signs of fatigue, but when I suggested that we rest for a moment he shook his head, stating that he'd rest once we were both a safe distance away. But I couldn't ignore the wounds on his back; so I stopped him. "Dimitri, we need to get you some medical aid. Bandages and clean clothes. We need money too."

"We'll get it once we leave Roza, trust me, we're not going to have enough time to get a decent head start."

"Then take my shirt." That made him stop. "Don't look at me like that. I've got a tank top on underneath, and this one's large enough to fit you. Plus, blacks less noticeable. Hopefully, if someone sees us, they won't notice the blood so much."

He'd appraised me slowly for a minute before nodding and unbuttoning his shirt. His movements were slow, and so I took over. My top was a t-shirt, so he had to list his arms to get it over his head, and that only made his back bleed even more. So I tried to pull it on as quickly as possible, whilst trying not to jerk his arms too much. Eventually, it was on and we set off again. He was leading, keeping an eye out in front while I guarded our backs. I kept quiet, knowing that I could trust his judgement; but when we started up the stairs to the fifth floor my curiosity got the better of me.

"Why are we still walking up the stairs? Isn't there an exit on the lower floors?"

He didn't turn around, but kept walking as he answered me. "There are, and we might have to come back down these stairs again. The best exit to use is on the third floor, but it's also the busiest one. Like you said, we need clothes, money and bandages; they're in my room. We need fake ID's and travel documents; I should have something that we can use until we can get proper ones made; unless someone's been in there and found it already. "Also" and that was when he turned to grin at me. "There's an emergency exit on my corridor. It's a lot easier to get out of there unnoticed."

By the time he'd finished wed reached his floor. He poked his head through the door quickly before ushering me through and practically dragging me down the corridor. When we arrived at his room, he typed in some garbled code on the keypad beside his door, before it unlocked and we could slip inside.

Once there, he was in motion. He chucked me a duffel bag and directed me over to a small chest of drawers for me to empty out while he got everything else. I was done quickly, and turned to watch as he grabbed things out from random places and slung them into his bag. Looking round his room properly, I could see that it actually resembled the old flat a lot. It was empty of any decorative furnishings; just the bare essentials like we'd had. The walls were plain; no pictures, no photographs, noting. The only thing in the room that seemed to make it Dimitri's was the bookcases in the corner. With a start I realised they were the bookcases from his 'flat'; and just like at the flat, they were filled too the brim wit all his books, including those Westerns.

I must have sighed in exasperation, because Dimitri stopped whatever he was doing and came over to me. "Is something wrong?"

No, no, I was just hoping that your obsession with those cowboy books were a part of your cover story. Looks like I'm stuck with them for the rest of my life now." I let out another sigh, and surprisingly, Dimitri was smiling. "What are you smiling about? Are you pleased that those damn books are gonna drive me insane?"

"I was smiling at something else you said. It's just made this whole situation even better."

"What did I say?"

"Ah no, if you can't remember then I'm not telling you." And stubbornly, he went back to packing his bags.

I gazed at the books for a couple more seconds before I realised something. "Don't you want to take any of these with you?"

He glanced up at me in surprise before answering. "They'll be too heavy. I'll buy new copies later on."

"But don't you want to take a few? I'm not saying we have to take the whole bookshelf, but you shouldn't have to leave them all behind."

He finished packing and zipped up the bag before coming over to stand next to me. "It's okay Roza, they can be replaced. It's hard to leave them behind, but it's something that I have to do. They'll weigh us down; and I'm not in the best shape to be carrying too many heavy items."

"I'm sorry."

He gave me a small smile before tugging gently on my hand. "Come on. Let's get out of here before someone notices we're missing."

Sod's law. As we step out of his room, an alarm sounds. And another. And another. "Shit."

Dimitri doesn't tell me off for swearing, only grabs my hand and yanks me in the opposite direction to the stairs. "They've either found out that you're missing; or that I'm not in the holding cell anymore. We haven't got time to get back down to the third floor; so we're going to have to go this way. They'll be trying to block of the exits, so this is our best bet." By now we're running down the corridor, trying to get to the exit before any agents can figure out where we are.

And as we get to the door; shouts echo from the other end of the corridor. We cast each other frantic glances before shoving at the door. He tried to type in the code on the keypad; but it wasn't working. As someone bursts round the corner, I lose my last shreds of patience and stab the damn thing. It beeps slowly once more, a sad melancholy tone before the light dims and the door opens. Dimitri stares at me, his mouth hanging open in amazement. But we do not have time to stop. So I grab his arm and yank him through the opening before slamming it shut behind us.

And turn to find that we are stranded on top of a roof.

"How the hell do we get down from here?"

Her points to the furthest corner; which is also the one that has no buildings on either side. "We climb."

"What?" This man must be out of his mind. But he grabs my hand and leads me over to the edge before tilting my head downwards.

"Look." And there I see it. A small ladder. It looks frail, but it's our only way to escape. So I take a deep breath and meet his eyes.

"I trust you. I'll see you down there."

…

By some miracles, we both managed to slip down the ladder quickly, with out losing our grips. I don't know where The Academy's agents are; but I don't have much time to think before Dimitri grabs my hand and leads me through the side streets. Every so often, he pauses and drags me into the shadow of a building before changing direction and leading me somewhere new. I am completely lost and confused, until he pulls me into the shadows of another building; a few seconds before a figure sneaks past on the other side of the road. A slight pressure on my hand tells me to stay quiet; and so I hold my breath until the agent is gone.

I keep holding my breath until I hear Dimitri murmur. "Let's move." And we're off again. This happens for the next hour, until finally we see bright lights ahead. I start to press forward eagerly, but Dimitri has stopped; and his weight pulls me back. Like before he pulls me into the shadow of a building, but this time he is not keeping an eye out for any agents.

Instead he is gazing into my eyes, with what I can only describe as pure love in his. He keeps my gaze for a second longer before he speaks. "They'll have agents posted near the main road; as well as hidden on it. We're going to split up; and go in opposite directions. No matter what you hear Roza, you need to run. Keep running until you get to a car, _not_ a taxi, and get as far away as possible."

My heartbeat quickens at the thought of losing him again so soon. "But it'll be safer and quicker if we go together. How will I find you?"

He wraps his arms around my waist, gently drawing me into his chest, and I feel him speak through my hair. "They'll expect us to go together. This way, you have a better chance of getting out." Something cool and smooth slips into both of my hands, and I glance down in surprise. "Only use the gun if you have to. Once you get into a populated area, they'll try to draw you out. They can't risk the public finding out about them. The mobile should be untraceable; but even so, use it as little as possible. One number is programmed into it; and the caller ID should say Dimka. If any other numbers ring, drop the phone and leave straight away." He kisses the crown of my head. "Be careful, please Roza. I love you, and I can't bear to lose you again."

I tilt my face up to his to look at him straight in the eye. "I love you too. We'll both get out of this, okay. Promise me that you'll stay safe and find me." I press a kiss to his jaw. "I only just got you back."

"I can't promise Roza, but I'll try." He presses one hard, powerful kiss to my lips before giving me a gentle shove. "Let's go."

"One minute." And before he can question me; my arms wrap themselves round his neck to bring his lips down to meet mine. All of my hope, fear, strength, power, desire and love go into that kiss; trying to convey how sorry I am and how much I love him through what may be our last encounter for months.

All too soon, it has to end; and he presses another, gentler kiss to my lips before releasing me.

"I love you Dimitri." And with that I step back, grab my bag and run.

"I love you too Roza." And he is gone in the opposite direction.

….

Once I get a block away from the main road I hear shouts and footsteps behind me. And even though my lungs are aching, due to the lack of exercise the past month, I keep running. Too many lives are on the line; mine, Lissa's, Christian's, and Dimitri's. Just thinking his name makes my chest clench with fear, but I force my body to run through the pain and worry; to use it to fuel my desire to escape.

And by some stroke of luck I reach the main road. But it doesn't stop there. They are still running after me; but this time under the pretence that I have dropped my purse. Late night shoppers stare at me as I push through the crowds. But I do not allow them to distract me.

And then I see it. A black Porsche is on the pavement twenty feet ahead of me. I know that it's not subtle; and will attract even more attention but I am getting desperate. So I strike the window sharply in the top left corner with the gun, watching in satisfaction as the entire window smashes, enabling me to throw the bag in through the empty space.

Then I see that the lazy, or absent minded, driver has actually left the keys in the ignition. Despite the open mouthed shock of my little audience, I run around to the driver's side and jump in; peeling away from the curb as quickly as possible. Glancing into the rear-view mirror I see the agents running up to the space where I was a few seconds ago; barking into their phones furiously. No doubt, they're going to trace the number plate; but the car will get me far enough before I need to switch.

….

I drive, not really knowing where I'm headed until a large body dashes in front of the car. I scream loudly and stomp on the breaks, scared that I have hit whoever was stupid enough to run in front of me. But before I can get out of the car to see how much damage I may or may not have caused; a gun is pointed at me through the smashed window. "Get out of the car please. I don't want to hurt you; but I will if it comes down to it."

That voice. That soft yet strong voice, nice and deep, that sent shivers down my spine with its soft Russian accent. "Dimitri Belikov, get your ass in the car now. And put that gun away, who the hell do you think you are?"

His surprised face ducks down to stare amazed through the window. "Roza?"

"I grin at him before tapping my imaginary watch. "Yes doofus, it's me. Now hurry up and get in the car before I change my mind and leave you here."

He chuckles and opens the back door to sling his duffel in, before getting into the passenger seat. "Well then Miss. Hathaway. Where exactly are we headed?"

"I actually have no idea. Where do you think we should go?"

He stares at me for a second before chuckling again. "Let's find another car, and then decide. Until we think of something, just drive wherever you feel like going." He finishes up with a smile and reaches over to link his fingers with my free hand, before kissing the back of it.

Glancing at him I can see the deep bags under his eyes and the fatigue starting to show in the lines across his face. "Get some sleep. I'll wake you when I find somewhere." He smiles at me gratefully before leaning backwards and onto his side, so as not to jar his back.

"Thank you Roza. I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

**Again, I'm sorry that it's not longer! And that the last couple of things that need to happen still haven't happened! And that it's getting posted up so late at night! I just haven't had the time to write at all this week :'( so to play it safe, the next update won't be until Friday. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! xx**


	11. Chapter 11

**I made a mistake in chapter 9. The authors note said that the chapter was dedicated to everyone who alerted this story. It actually had the names of everyone who favourited this story. So this chapter is for everyone who's added this story to their alerts list and chapter nine has been edited to say favourites list! Sorry for the mistake!**

**Sorry for the late update! I thought I'd gotten over my cold, but it came back with a vengeance :'( so all my free time's been spent sleeping rather than writing. But finally, here's chapter 11!**

**Thank you to; , vampireacademy101, Badass Hathaway, DimkasRoza, Twilighternproud, redglasses, loveyy10, Nefarious1972, talkygirl, snowdrop0594, vox ad umbram sum, IHeartVA, Rachel-rob-Sandwich, CullenCovenGirl88, soccaplayer71, iluvbooks379, i-bit-a-pillow-or-two, XXXDimitrixRozaXXX, I AM ROSE HATHAWAY, SwiftPaw96, stella-bear, lovedimitri, miti1, Rose-Dimitri-Hathaway-Belikov, crazygirl2810 and kadiem02.**

**And thank you to XXXDimitrixRozaXXX for giving me a car name for chapter ten :) xx**

* * *

_Lyin here next to you, oh honey_

_Time just seems to fly, yeah_

_Needin you more and more, (more and more)_

_Lets give love a try (lets give love a try)_

_Sweeter and sweeter love grows_

_And heaven's there for those_

_Who fool the tricks of time_

_With hearts of love, we'll find...true love_

_In a special way_

_The Closer I get to you – Duet between Beyonce and Luther Vandross._

I woke Dimitri up to change cars; and then he fell asleep again. There were still lines across his face, but they were eased, and he looked less troubled than when we'd first escaped. I was still trying to figure out what it was that I'd said to make him grin like a Cheshire cat, but he looked so peaceful while he was asleep, I didn't have the heart too wake him.

He woke up on his own a few hours later but neither of us said anything. We didn't need to. Just like before this whole mess ever happened, we were comfortable to sit with each other silently. The companionship and closeness was back between us, and we didn't need words to fill the space. Instead, while I drove he linked his fingers with those on my free hand, rubbing small soothing circles into the back of it.

A sign for a motel popped up a few miles down the road, and I pulled the car over into the correct lane. I'd gotten so used to the silence, his voice made me jump slightly. "We need to make up a cover story."

That made me frown. I'd been so consumed with thoughts of simply getting out; I hadn't stopped to consider what would happen afterwards. "We just need a room for a night, and then we're going to find Lissa. We don't need a cover for that. We're not going to stay for long enough for anyone to become suspicious."

"But we still need a story we can fall back on. You know how nosey people can be. Celeste found you and Miss. Dragomir purely by chance back at the hotel. That could happen again; if we have a cover story it might throw them off long enough for us to get away."

"That's a good point. So what should it be?"

He thinks for a second, considering, before answering. "Something simple that we'll both remember and that gives us a reason for us both looking like this. The clerk will most likely ask why we look like we've been in a fight."

An idea sparks in my brain and I cannot stop the grin from covering my face. "That's exactly what we're going to say."

He doesn't catch onto my meaning, and just stares at me blankly.

"Our cover story! What better than to use the truth? If anyone asks; we're boyfriend and girlfriend. We've just been at a friend's house; it was supposed to be an overnight stay but one of the guys who lives on her floor tried to hit on me. You stopped him, things turned ugly, and we decided it would be better if we stayed at a hotel instead. Perfect."

He grins before kissing my knuckles lightly. "Just like you."

…

The clerk buys the story easily, issuing us a room without any fuss. The only problem is when we step inside.

He has given us keys for a room with a double bed rather than two singles. Which is fine in my opinion; but I'm a little unsure as to whether it's too early for us to be sharing a bed again. Plus, Dimitri needs space to lie on his front since his back's all torn up.

This time, the silence between us is tinged with discomfort. Neither of us quite knows how to approach the subject, and so we avoid each others gazes, instead placing the bags on top of the dresser and grabbing whatever is closest. I start to fiddle with the TV remote, trying to find a reasonable station to watch, while Dimitri glances out of the window.

"Roza."

"Hmmm?" I'm starting to get involved with some cop show, watching as they speed down the motorway trying to catch a robber. Simple and easy to get into.

"Roza."

I drag my eyes from the screen and turn to face him. "What's up?"

"Do you want me to go and ask for a different room? He might have one with two single beds, or a camp bed somewhere. Normally they have them, but this one doesn't."

I look at him properly, the fatigue still clear across his face despite the hors of sleep he had in the car. He's been through so much in the past few days; do I really need to sleep on a separate bed?

"No it's fine. We can share or whatever. One of us needs to keep watch anyway, so while you sleep, I'll sit at the table and make sure we aren't found." As I expected, he argues as soon as I suggest doing all the work.

"We'll take it in turns to keep watch. I'll go first since I slept in the car." Despite his words he yawns largely, looking embarrassed once he's finished. "Sorry."

"No problem. But that yawn just proves my point. You've been through a lot more than I have, so while you sleep I'll keep watch."

He frowns, but knows that there's no point in arguing with me. "Fine. But make sure you wake me up."

He turns and bends to get some clothes out of the duffle I was carrying; and in the bright light, I notice the darker and lighter patches on the shirt. "I need to clean your back before you shower."

He looks up at me surprised, but then nods and rifles through the bag before pulling out a medical kit. I follow him into the bathroom; and rather than making him struggle to lift his arms over his head, I use the switchblade to cut his shirt off. The blood has dried, and in some places the shirt is stuck to his skin; but after wetting it slightly, it comes away easily.

He leans forwards slightly, his forearms resting on his thighs so I have a clear view of his back to clean it. But the mere sight is enough to make me want to wretch and cry and punch someone. If I thought it looked bad when he was actually being beaten, now that it has stopped it is ten times worse.

Dried blood covers his back, congealed around the edges of each jagged gash; but it is no longer fresh and coloured a bright red. Instead, it has started to turn a dull brownish colour as it dried. His back itself looks sore, and I'm scared to touch him, even though I need to. Where he has moved around; in the car and carrying his bag up the stairs to the room, the cuts have started to bleed again slightly.

I must have made some sound because he sits up slightly and turns to face me.

Which makes me cry out even more.

The front of his body is just as bruised as his back. Dark purple blotches cover his chest, whereas some areas are bright red. Long scratches trail down the sides of his chest; like nails have been dragged down his skin. The bruises litter his skin, some of the fist shaped; while others are just misshapen splodges across his muscled chest.

His fingers gently tilt my face up so that my gaze meets his; and he holds it there so I cannot look away. "Rose. It's okay. Don't beat yourself up about it." He wipes at the corner of my eye, and I realise that tears are trailing down my cheeks. "It's not your fault. I didn't mean for this to upset you. If it's too much you don't have to do it."

I shake my head, the words clogging in my throat.

"I mean it Roza. You don't have to clean it." He wipes away more tears, but I step back slightly and grab at the medical kit.

"It's okay. I'll do it." My voice cracks and so I stop talking. He watches me for a second, before nodding and turning around again so I can see his back. Before I start to clean his cuts I empty out the medical kit onto the tabletop and tie my hair back out of my face. I then wash and dry my hands thoroughly before using some of the antibacterial hand wash that was in the bag as well. There's a small bag with latex gloves in, and I slip a pair of those on before turning back to face Dimitri.

I take my time, trying to be as gentle as possible. I take one of the flannels that the hotel has provided and pour a large dose of the disinfectant solution onto it; before working my way around each cut. I gently rub at the outside before working my way over the edges; trying to hurt him as little as possible. Once his back is cleaned, I find a pair of tweezers and sterilise them in the solution before using them to remove a few of the flakes of clotted blood that are inside of the cuts.

There's no syringe for me to use to clean the inside of the cuts, so I have to use one of the unopened water bottles instead. Dimitri leans back slightly so that the water can run into the bath rather than into the other cuts, and I use the spray from the nozzle to clean inside of each gash. Once the water runs out, I fill the bottle with the disinfectant and repeat the action, making sure that every cut is cleaned on the inside and outside; before rinsing the bottle and rinsing his back with fresh water.

His back hasn't started to bleed again, so I take that as a good sign. "I'm going to put one of these big sheet things that you've got in here over your back to keep it clean. You can shower and then I'll clean it again and bandage it up properly."

He nods and stands before turning to face me. "Thank you Roza."

While he's in the shower I grab some of my clothes and leave a note for Dimitri telling him where I am before picking the lock to the room next door. No one is in there, and so I take my time showering and cleaning my hair; making sure all the sweat, blood and dirt are removed before I shut off the water and step out. There's not much I can do with my hair, so I yank a comb through it, and leave it to air dry. Once I'm dried, creamed and dressed I walk down to the lobby to see if they have any room service available or a kitchen. The clerk is helpful; and eyes me up now that I'm clean, but a quick reminder of my boyfriend waiting upstairs stops him from going too far. There's no room service, but they have a breakfast bar; and the local take-away delivers to them throughout the night. He gives me one of their leaflets and I head back up to the room.

Once I get there, Dimitri is sitting on the bed, the medical kit set out and waiting. He glances up as the door opens, but he relaxes once he sees that it's me.

"Hey." I smile gently and raise the pamphlets into the air for him to see. "They deliver all night, and we get a discount because we're staying at the hotel." He chuckles slightly and I drop them onto the table before stepping over to him. "You washed your hair?" It's not meant to come out quite so rudely, but before I can backtrack he laughs.

"It was a pain getting the shampoo into it, but I did it in the end."

"I would have done it, to save your back. You shouldn't be moving too much; give it a chance to heal."

He takes my hands in his rubbing those gentle circles into my skin to relax me again. "You needed time to clean yourself too Roza. Space to think about everything that's happened today." He kisses both of my hands gently before releasing them and turning.

I sigh and drop the issue before smiling gently. The makeshift bandage comes off easily, and I rub over his back with the disinfectant solution once more to make sure that the shampoo and dirt from his body hasn't gotten into any of the cuts. Once I'm satisfied that it's all cleaned to the best possible standard, I dry his back off gently and grab the bandages.

There are several small ones, and one of those big square ones that can be cut to size. Rather than try to cut it to fit each gash, I simply check to see if it will cover his entire back. There's a small tube of antibiotic cream, and I do my best to spread it over the entire bandage before pressing the bandage to his back gently. Dimitri's cut some tape ready for me to use; and I take each piece, carefully pressing it to his back so that it holds the bandage firmly. "Is that tight enough?"

He stands and leans from side to side slowly; and then backwards and forwards. "Has it come loose?"

"No."

He turns and smiles at me. "Then it's fine. It doesn't tingle or hurt, so you did a good job. Thank you Roza."

I smile and place my hands on his shoulders, pushing down slightly. He looks confused but does as I want anyway. "I need to sort your chest out. There's some stuff in here that should help it heal up better." I search through the little pile for a few minutes before finding the tube I was looking for. "Lean back."

We're in the bedroom so he's able to lie back gingerly, propped up on his arms. I hop onto the bed lightly before leaning over his chest and spreading small amounts of the cream over each one of his bruises. As I start to rub it in the conversation between us flows and before I know it I'm done, and we're both laughing at something random.

"All finished." He meets my eyes, startled, before his gaze flicks down to my lips and back up to meet my eyes. I hadn't realised how close we'd gotten while I'd been sorting his chest. We're both leaning in, and the laughter dries up as our gazes lock.

"Thank you Roza." But neither of us moves away.

Instead, he shifts so that his weight is balanced on his left arm and his body is tilted towards mine. With his free hand, he tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear before letting his fingers stroke my cheek gently.

"Dimitri." It's spoken, softly as a whisper, but it's all he needs to hear to lean in and press his lips to mine.

"Roza."

And that one word spoken like a prayer sets my body on fire. I groan and scoot up the bed to wrap my arms around his neck before his arms wrap around my waist pulling me even closer. His hands grip at my hips trying to pull me closer and without breaking the kiss I straddle him, trying to press my body against his as much as possible.

But it's not enough and his hands move to the bottom of my shirts, hesitating for a second before yanking it up and over my head. Since he doesn't have a shirt on, my hands trail down his chest; tracing gently over the defined muscles in his abdomen. The moan that breaks free from his mouth makes me smile and he pulls back to kiss down my neck while his hands trail up past my waist to hold me. I can't help the moan that escapes from the feel of his rough hands being so gentle with my body; and he shivers in return before lifting me slightly so he can pull my jogging bottoms down.

My hands trail their way back down his chest, feeling his muscles tighten as they make their descent, and as I reached waistband of his pyjama bottoms. We roll and I take advantage of the moment to pull his trousers down. I can only get them halfway down without breaking the kiss, so I give up and let my hands trail up the sides of his chest before fisting themselves into his hair.

He pulls back for a second to pull his trousers off and mine along with my knickers before his mouth is back on mine, fierce and hungry. But the kiss is not enough. Lust, and a slight touch of impatience are flowing through me. My body has missed him; missed his touch, his smell, his taste, and it wants it now.

As I wrap both of my legs around his waist another groan slips from between his teeth. "Roza." The lust is clear to hear in his voice too, and it turns me on even more if that's possible.

"Dimitri. Now." His lips are crushed to mine before I can finish speaking and he move so that he's in a better position. I can feel him trying to place his weight onto his forearms, but I yank him back down so his chest is pressed to mine. "No. Stay here."

"I'm too heavy. I don't want to hurt you." We're both panting, but I drag his mouth back to mine.

"I don't care, just stay here. I need… I need…"

My moan makes his crush his mouth back to mine and the intensity of our kissing picks up once more. I'm just about to moan his name again, when he enters me. This time it is not gentle, but hard and fast; need and instinct taking over our bodies. The pain draws us closer together, letting go of all the hurt and bad feeling that's been between us for the past six months. It sends thrills through my body as he slides into me; until he's was buried in me, fully, before pulling back out again and thrusting back in.

I wrap my legs round his waist even tighter as he pierces me again; my hips rocking against his; causing him to cry out. We're moving together, almost in a frenzy trying to fill our need for the other as quickly as possible while making it last.

His thrusts continue and I feel a slight sharp pain on my shoulder. Glancing down I can see that he's bitten me before kissing up and down my neck. My nails dig into his sides; as he pulls out and penetrates me again, harder than we've ever gone before. And still we don't stop, our breathing growing heavy and erratic as we press and grind against each other; the other's body being our reward.

Until suddenly, my body explodes and my nails scratch down Dimitri's back.

All I can do is lie there, in shock and contentment as my body calms down, and I realise that Dimitri has also stopped moving, his head buried in the crook of my neck. Weakly, my fingers trail though his hair as I try to get my breathing under control.

After a couple more minutes, his lips trail across my collar bone and up my neck to meet my lips. But instead of calming me down, it has the opposite effect. My back arches and I gasp, my body needing his again; and my lips kiss his more forcefully. But he doesn't push me away. Instead, he rolls so that I'm on top and sits up, pulling me securely to his chest before we repeat what we did before.

* * *

**And there's chapter eleven! I'm sorry once again for it taking so long to post up. But I hope you liked it! Please let me know what you thought! xx**


	12. Chapter 12

**Here's the complete chapter! Thank you for waiting so patiently. xx**

**This chapter is for everyone who's added this me to their fave author or author alerts lists! Redglasses, IHeartVA, lovethefang, soccaplayer71, i-bit-a-pillow-or-two and random4evea.**

* * *

_I don't know what it is that you've done to me...  
but it's caused me to act in such a crazy way.  
Whatever it is that you do when you do what you're doing...  
it's a feeling that I want to stay._

'Cause my heart starts beating triple time,  
with thoughts of loving you on my mind.  
I can't figure out just what to do,  
when the cause and cure is you.

I get so weak in the knees I can hardly speak.  
I lose all control and something takes over me.  
In a daze, your love's so amazing, it's not a phase.  
I want you to stay with me, by my side.  
I swallow my pride, your love is so sweet.  
It knocks me right off of my feet.  
I can't explain why your loving makes me weak.

It's time after time after time I've tried to fight it.  
But your love is strong it keeps on holding on.  
Resistance is down when you're around, starts fading.  
In my condition I don't want to be alone.

_Weak – SWV (Sisters With Voices).  
_

I wake up late the next morning, curled against Dimitri. His arms are wrapped tightly round my waist, his body curled behind mine, his face resting against the nape of my neck. Memories of what we'd done until the early hours of the morning cause a small contented smile to pass across my face and I turn around to rest my head against Dimitri's chest; stroking across his chest gently as his arms tighten around me and I slip back into a peaceful sleep.

….

I wake a few hours later to find the bed empty. The space where Dimitri was lying is still warm, so I know that he's only just gotten up. Rolling over so I can see onto the floor I find that his jogging bottoms are gone, but the two duffel bags are still in the same places as last night.

A toilet flushes and the taps run for a while before the door opens and Dimitri appears. My breath catches as I take him in, just like that first time in the club. Long, defined legs. His washboard stomach, still littered with bruises that make my heart hurt; but the memory of exploring that muscled chest last night makes butterflies grow in the pit of my stomach. In fact, remembering all of the dirty, naughty things I did to him last night; and the things he did to me in return to sate his desires makes a smug grin pop up on my face as my body tingles.

He notices the wicked grin across my face, and raises one eyebrow in a silent question before stripping off and crawling back into bed so that he's spooned up behind me. His strong arms wrap around my waist as he places gentle feather light kisses across the back of my neck. "Good morning."

He kisses me once more before replying. "It's a very good morning. I hoped to be back before you woke up." Another kiss. "Did you sleep well?"

This time I turn to face him, another contented smile popping up across my face. "The few hours that I got were very good. Very... energising." My lips find his again for a few minutes until he breaks away with a chuckle. "What's so funny? You keep doing this you know, laughing at random things and not telling me what they are."

He chuckles again before twining some of my hair around his fingers. "The first time I didn't chuckle, I smiled, and it was because of something you said. It simply made me so happy, I couldn't believe my luck. I still can't." And coupled with that serious intense gaze, I know it's true. He gave me another one of those breathtaking smiles before continuing. "And this time I laughed because I realised that even though we stayed awake; we certainly didn't keep watch."

"Well I was watching something, just not the door."

"And what was that Miss. Hathaway?"

"Hmmm, well if you don't know Mr. Belikov, then I guess I'll just have to show you."

He grins and then leans down to kiss me. I'm eager to return the kiss, and it's not long before we're ready to go again until it hits me and I break away suddenly. "Stop!"

He jerks away shocked, before hurt and confusion pass across his face. "What's wrong? I thought you were ready for me, did I hurt you?"

"No, no, it's nothing like that." I catch the sides of his face to calm and reassure him. "It's nothing you did wrong, trust me. But..." Embarrassment starts to flow through me and a blush works its way onto my cheeks. "Wedon'thaveacondom."

"Huh?"

Maybe I'd spoken a little too fast. "We don't have a condom Dimitri. I know last night we went... well after the first few times and the naps and going again before taking another nap, and going again... I lost count, but it doesn't matter. What I mean is, that I'm not ready for a baby; _we're_ not ready for a baby. Not yet. I know what happened last night; but the chances of it actually happening on those many occasions… Well, actually yeah it's pretty big. But not as big as the chances of it happening if we do it again without protection again."

He nods and kisses my lips gently before rolling off me and pulling my body close to his, wrapping his arms around me. "You're right. And I have to admit, that never entered my mind last night." He pauses, and then asks something I wasn't expecting. "Did you see any paracetamol in the medical bag?"

I can't help but stare in amazement before getting out of bed and walking into the bathroom. The medical kit is still strewn over the countertop, and as I look for the little tub that I saw last night, I can't stop myself from giggling.

"And what's so funny?" His strong arms wrap around my waist again, one of his strong hands gently caressing my stomach. "This time you're the one laughing randomly."

"Nothing, nothing. Here they are." I turn in his arms and tilt my head back to see his face. "Is it your back?"

He takes the small container and removes a couple of the small tablets before dry swallowing them. "Slightly. It's itching, which is good. It's more of a dull ache – which I can ignore. My sides are a completely different matter."

My gaze travels down to the sides of his muscled chest, and my cheeks flush delicately as I realise what he means. "Oh." My hands reach out of the own accord to trace the scratches my nails made last night. "I didn't mean… That wasn't supposed to happen."

"Don't look so flustered Roza. We both got a bit caught up in the moment." His gaze settles on my shoulder and his face sobers. "That wasn't meant to happen. Did I hurt you?"

I'm confused until I glance down and see what's troubling him, and then my memory of what lead to last nights many activities comes flooding back_. I feel a slight sharp pain on my shoulder. Glancing down I can see that he's bitten me before kissing up and down my neck. My nails dig into his sides… _"That's not your fault either. How can you tell me not to worry and then blame yourself? And no, it doesn't hurt." I kiss him lightly on the lips. "Stop worrying."

With some effort he drags his eyes away from my shoulder and focuses back on my face. "Since we can't… exercise today, what should we do?"

And that snaps me back into reality. We're in a hotel. Agents are running around looking for us and Lissa, who I haven't heard from in a month. We have nowhere to go. It's us against everyone else. "We need to find Lissa. I can do it, but I need to be able to concentrate. So first we're going to shower, only shower, no funny business." At the mention of funny business a mischievous grin pops up on his face. "I mean it Dimitri, no funny business, so get whatever dirty ideas you have out of your head. I'll redo your back, we pay and then leave. Can you drive, I mean, with your back?"

He nods solemnly and I continue. "Okay, so you'll drive and I'll look for Lissa. Once I find her, we'll go to her. When we're all together we'll figure out what to do next. Any questions?"

"Just one. What exactly do you term 'funny business?' Because I'm sure we might just have different ideas."

"Well what exactly do you consider it to be?"

He grins and pulls me towards the shower. "The language barrier might get in the way Roza. I think it's much better if I show you."

….

A few hours later we're in the car driving to God know where. Once we finally got out of the shower and managed to get dressed, pack up and leave the room, things moved pretty quickly.

We left the car we'd switched to, and took another one. Then we switched again, and since then I've been trying to contact Lissa. She's too far for the link to; I don't quite know how to explain it. It's like she's too far to make a clear connection, I can feel that she's there, but it's like static. So every so often, I try again, and if it feels like we're closer, then I tell Dimitri to keep heading in that direction. If not, we head somewhere new.

Dimitri hasn't questioned how I'm finding Lissa, but every time I 'space out' he watches me worriedly. He's trying to give me space, and I suppose, to prove that he's not tricking me. It's cute in a way.

But despite driving all day, there's still no luck. We find another hotel and book a room, this time curling up in each others arms and falling asleep instantly.

…

This pattern continues for the next week. We wake up, shower, I clean Dimitri's back, he pays with the slowly dwindling bundle of cash and we leave. Then we drive all day, before finding another hotel. Once we stopped off in a strange run down area where Dimitri spoke to a couple of scary looking guys. They weren't overly tattooed or pierced, but their whole demeanour screamed 'I break kneecaps to earn my living. All dodgy business is acceptable here.' Dimitri paid them a large amount that he wouldn't tell me, in exchange for fake identity papers. Then we continued on. We haven't run into any agents yet, so that's the only good thing that's come out of this whole ordeal. But a part of me worries that perhaps that's because they've already found Lissa.

"Dimitri?"

"Mhmmm?" It's almost sunset, and like always we've been driving all day. I've been trying to find Lissa, but again, there's been no luck. He's looking for a hotel sign, somewhere out of the way. Despite not running into any agents, we're still not taking any chances.

"Do you think we'll find her?"

He glances over at me startled. "Yes. Don't you?"

"I don't know. I'm just scared that she's already been found by The Academy. Or that we just keep missing each other. Sometimes I feel like we're getting closer, but then it fades before I can catch an exact location."

He reaches over to catch my hand before speaking. "There's a high chance that we do keep missing them. America's huge, and we'll be lucky if we ever find them. But you know her, better than anyone. Rather than looking for her, why don't you try to figure out where she would go?"

We both lapse into silence. Dimitri concentrating on finding somewhere to stay for the night; me on where Lissa would have gone. And there it is, as clear as day. "Georgia."

"Georgia?"

"It's where her dad worked. We, her family and me, we used to go up there every weekend, stay at one of those fancy hotels. I've forgotten the name, but it used to cost a couple hundred every night, just for Liss and I to share a room. It was good though. Good quality. She'll have gone there, even though I told her not to. It's somewhere familiar, something she knows. She can hide there more easily… especially since I'm not there to keep her hidden."

"Then that's where we'll go." He starts to change direction, heading us out of the town and onto the motorway.

"We're going there now?"

He glances over amused. "If we drive all night, we should be able to get there by tomorrow morning. Better we get there now than risk a night and she moves on. Get some sleep Roza; I'll wake you when I see somewhere to eat."

"No, let's switch places. You've been driving all day. It's tiring work. I'll drive and wake you up when I see somewhere."

"You need to sleep Roza. And you can try to find Miss. Dra- Lissa again."

I scowl, but a sudden wave of fatigue crashes over me. "Just for a few hours. Then I'll take over and you can sleep."

…

I wake up to bright sunshine flowing through the windows onto my face. Glancing around, I can see that the car seat has been cranked back so that I am almost lying down and I'm covered up with Dimitri's coat. I don't remember driving, or even waking up. Readjusting the chair so I can sit up his face is clear to see, along with the bags under his eyes. "You didn't wake me up!"

He smiles, but it's weak. "You needed to sleep, and I didn't want to trouble you. It's okay Roza, we're here."

And looking out of the window for the first time I see that he's right. Landmarks from my past are now in front of my eyes, clear to see. "That's it!"

Surprised at my voice, he jerks and the car swerves earning us a few beeps from other drivers. "What?"

"There's the hotel. Lissa might be in there." He smiles and after a few minutes we pull into the car park of the hotel. "I know, I know, we need a plan. But you need to sleep. So lets just go in there, get a room; and while you rest your eyes, I'll see if Lissa's there. Also, if she is there, it might be best if I find her alone. Then I can explain to her why we're together."

But we don't even get that far. We get a room, though the clerk sneers down his nose at us for wanting to go there in the middle of the day. I resist the urge to break his slimy little nose, and instead smile sweetly, commenting on the fact that standards of service have definitely gone down since I used to visit with my 'uncle'. Hearing this, he has a sudden change of heart and becomes all smiles, trying to please the niece of the secretary of state. Sucker.

Once we step into the lift, both Dimitri and I let out identical sighs of relief; but that relief is short lived. Our room is on the fifth floor, and when we reach the third the doors open to reveal Lissa and Christian.

They step inside the lift, their minds not processing who they see before them. But as the doors close, they freeze and try to step back, slamming into the doors. "Rose? Rose!" Lissa is on me, her face exploding into a huge smile as she hugs me tightly. "How did you find us? We thought you'd got taken. I'm so sorry that we came here, I know you told us to stay away because it's where my dad lived bu-"

She freezes and stops talking at the click of a gun. Instinctively I spin so that she's sheltered behind me, protected by my body. But it's not Lissa who needs to be sheltered, it's Dimitri. He is frozen against the wall of the lift, his eyes locked on Christian. Christian who has one finger pressed on the button to keep the doors shut, while the other hand holds a gun trained directly at Dimitri's forehead.

"Why is he here?" Christian's voice is low and angry. Just like back in the alleyway, he is focused completely on keeping Lissa safe and protected. "Why did you bring him with you Rose? Have you decided to join The Academy?"

"No, it's nothing like that Christian." Behind me, Lissa is starting to tremble and through the link I can hear her fear. She trusts me to protect her, but seeing Dimitri there… it's not helping. "No Liss. Please. Just let me explain."

Christian answers before she can. "I fail to see how you can explain this Rose. He's the reason we had to pack up and leave. Now you're here together. Or maybe, you were together from the start, and the whole time you've been protecting Lissa you've actually been spying."

"That makes no sense at all you idiot. Are you stupid or stupid? Why the hell would I spy on Liss for eighteen years?"

"I don't know. You're the one who's running around with the person who got us into this whole mess. You're the one who brought him into our lives in the first place!" That stings and I flinch, knowing that it's true. Anger starts to grow in Dimitri's eyes, but before any of us can respond, Lissa speaks.

"Let her explain Christian. Rose wouldn't betray me like that, she wouldn't." And through the link I can feel her steady confidence, that knowledge and belief that I wouldn't hurt her ever. "You know Rose. Don't turn your back on her like that. Let's all go back to the room and she can explain properly."

He looks like he wants to argue, but gives in, throwing another dirty look at Dimitri. "Fine. But we go to their room, and he doesn't leave my line of sight." By that, he means that Dimitri doesn't leave the range of his gun.

Dimitri nods. "Deal."

The few minutes it takes to get into our room are silent and tense. Lissa grips at my hand, scared that I'm going to disappear in a flash. Christians face is pale and anxious, though he's softened towards me. And Dimitri just looks tired.

When the door is finally unlocked, I direct him over to the bedroom. "Sleep. I'll explain to them."

"No, he stays out here where I can see him." And that blows my last shreds of patience.

"Get over yourself Christian. It's obvious that Dimitri's too tired to try anything, and he wouldn't try anything anyway. He's been beaten, had nothing to eat, and driven for twenty-four hours straight to get me here. So just lay off! Before you start acting so high and mighty, why don't you explain why you're here in Georgia. There were strict instructions I gave you to keep Lissa safe. Staying out of Georgia was one of them. It's predictable; and if I found you, what makes you think The Academy hasn't?"

He shuts up, looking abashed and I turn back to Dimitri. "Get some sleep." He nods looking thankful and leans down to kiss me gently before heading into the bedroom.

I take a deep breath before turning back to face Lissa and Christian, who are watching me shocked. "Now what did you want to know?"

Christian's mouth drops open. "Did… did you just kiss him?"

I sigh and roll my eyes before answering. "No, he kissed me. I kissed him back. There's a difference. Do you have any smart questions this time?"

If possible, Christian's mouth opens even more, and Lissa gives a little giggle before commenting. "Maybe you should start at the beginning."

So I do. I tell them what happened after I was caught. About being held by The Academy, and the questions they asked. About the fact that Dimitri never pushed me and treated me decently. About him getting beaten for it; and how it's not all completely his fault. Lissa looks like she wants to cry when I describe the whipping, and even Christian looks a little shocked. Finally I get to the part about us escaping and searching for them before figuring out where they were. I leave out exactly what happened in the hotel room but Christian picks up on it any way.

"And you're sure that nothing happened in that hotel room Rose?"

"I cleaned his back and we went to bed." I'm not going to fall into his trap.

"And that's all you did? For the past week all you've done is sleep together, not _sleep together_?"

Lissa realises what he's hinting at and giggles slightly before looking at me sympathetically.

"It's none of your business what happened between us Christian."

"Aha! So something did happen!"

"No, that's not what I…" But it's no use. Christian's grinning hugely, happy at embarrassing me and that smile only becomes more pronounced when Dimitri's steps out the bedroom groggily.

"Roza? Can you clean my back after I shower?"

Christian snorts and mumbles something rude, but he shuts up pretty quickly once I kick him in the shin. Then he glares at me while I smile back sweetly, before turning to face Dimitri.

There are still bags under his eyes, but after those few hours sleep, he looks more alert. And slightly wary, now that he's remembered we've met up with Lissa and Christian. "It's okay, they understand everything now. Call me as soon as you're done."

He gives me a small smile before disappearing into the bathroom and I turn back to Lissa and Christian. "So they only thing we all need to do now is decide what the four of us are going to do."

This time, it's Lissa who grins hugely. "We've already got that covered. We're booked in here for the rest of the week, and then we're going to try to empty out my account and move somewhere else. You said that they're tracing my account, so we'll take as much as possible. We'll open up a new account under a new name and in the days after we leave, we'll steadily empty out my old one, before placing the money into the new one. We can buy a house somewhere and stay off the radar."

…

A month later with my head shoved down the toilet down while I puke my guts out, I've come to the conclusion that morning sickness is a bitch. In fact I mumble that to Dimitri who's sitting beside me holding back my hair while I clutch at the bowl as if my life depended on it.

"What's a bitch?"

Sensing that I'm done throwing up, I groan and lift my head so he can hear me. "Morning sickness." He hands me a glass of water to rinse my mouth out before helping me to stand so I can brush my teeth. Then I continue. "And life in general. Lissa's crazy plan actually worked and then bam! Well done Rose, that first time in the hotel when you and Dimitri 'made up' was all you needed to get pregnant. Enjoy the first nine months of your new life growing a new life inside of you. And it just gets better and better. You have morning sickness to look forward to along with muscle aches, strange craving, swollen feet, back aches, mood swings… the list is endless. And you don't have to go through any of it. You get to enjoy it all. The only concession is that you hold my hair back in the mornings, and you don't _have_ to do that. You only do it because you feel guilty."

"I don't feel guilty. I do it because… I don't know. But I'm no guilty. Sorry Roza, but I'm happy that we're having a baby. I-"

"Of course you are! You're not the one who's going to blow up like a balloon and have to go through all that pain. You had fun and then nine months later you'll get a gorgeous little baby girl or boy out of it!"

"_We'll_ get a gorgeous little baby girl or boy out of it." He wraps his arms around me and kisses the back of my neck.

"No! No kissing. That's what lead to this. You and that damn sexy mouth of yours. You keep it to yourself." I spin to face him and try to get out of his embrace, but his grip tightens, pulling me closer.

A humorous smile pops up across his face. "You didn't want me to keep it to myself an hour ago. In fact you were demanding that I use it over and over and over again…"

He trails off seductively and I can't help the shiver that passes through me. "Hormones. Blame the hormones…" But my argument is weak and he knows it.

"In fact, I'm pretty sure that once we've both showered, or perhaps while we're showering, you might not mind so much." He's tracing small circles across my lower back while his deep dark eyes stare into mine. And it's hard to look away. I close my eyes and swallow audibly, trying to regain my self control; and he takes advantage of the moment to trail kisses up and down my neck, battering down the last of my resistance.

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**Hope you liked it! Please let me know what you thought! xx**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you very much for voting on my poll! You'll be able to see the result in the chapter. Sadly, there's only one more chapter after this one :'( but I hope you like the way that it turns out! Thank you so much for reading. Xx**

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_If an angel came down to me, asked what I would do differently  
I would say nothing, you see, I love someone truly  
And if I do not see tomorrow, you know it's gonna be alright  
'Cause I got my baby right by my side_

And if the rain ain't falling and the sun ain't shining  
It makes no difference to me I'm right where I wanna be

And if tonight is my last what I gotta do?  
And if tonight is my last I wanna spend it with you  
And if the sky fall's down it's gonna be alright  
'Cause I got you here tonight

If I had to give all that I own  
In return for the love that's grown  
I would give it gladly 'cause nothing else compares  
To the moments that we shared  
If tonight is my last – Laura Izibor.

Being six months pregnant sucks.

Being pregnant with twins sucks even more.

I was right in between my second and third trimester; and the transition wasn't going well. Sure there we good things like being spoiled by everyone and feeling little flutters every so often when these two amazing new people moved around. It was mind boggling to think that Dimitri and I had created something so… precious, so unique to the two of us. They were _our _babies, and the thought always made me smile.

However, the permanent morning sickness didn't. Most women's sickness had eased by the time they reached sixteen to twenty weeks. But no, I had to be one of the few who were still throwing up, even if it had lessened to only occurring in the mornings. Yes, the doctor had told me it was sometimes a symptom of being pregnant with twins, but that didn't make it any easier. All it made me want to do was rip Dimitri's head off his shoulders for doing this to me in the first place. One baby was going to be more than enough, but twins. Twins! After we'd found out I'd tried to strangle him right in the doctors office.

Lissa and Christian had pinned me to the bed before I could do too much damage, but I'd made Dimitri sleep on the sofa for the next week. He hadn't complained, he was so damn excited at the thought of having even more children that he'd walked around whistling happily and grinning like a fool.

I suppose this pregnancy wasn't as bad as others that I'd read about. I experienced mild back aches, but that was only just starting to occur since I'd only just started to show. Well, looking at me, you'd think that I was ready to burst, but I still had three months left. I'd been curvy in all the right places, with a small baby bump until I'd reached five months; and then I'd exploded. One day nothing was there and I could wear all my own clothes, the next all I could fit into was Dimitri's t-shirts.

Luckily, I hadn't suffered from too many stretch marks. I moisturised twice a day and drank plenty of water, so there were only a few around my stomach. Faint little lines that I hoped would fade after the birth, once I got back into shape. I was able to exercise a little, even though Lissa, Dimitri and even Christian thought that it would be more… prudent for me to rest. But it was boring simply lying on the sofa all day. So I went for long walks with Lissa, or went to the gym that Dimitri was working in. They wouldn't let me lift weights, but I could go swimming and take part in the aqua aerobics class. That didn't go so well once my bump became noticeable. Everyone was always touching me and stroking my stomach; asking if I was okay and could handle the exercises. It was patronising and irritating to be talked down to by women who couldn't swim two laps without needing a five minute breather afterwards. After I almost punched the instructor for asking if I was really okay to continue in my 'condition.' I thought it would be best to leave the classes until the babies were born.

I loved to feel the movement of the babies. They both moved around constantly, and as they got bigger it changed from a slight flutter to thumps and wriggles. I only allowed Lissa, Christian and Dimitri to feel the babies move; and the expression on Dimitri's face when the babies kicked was beautiful. He'd place his hands onto my stomach ever so gently, and when he felt them move his eyes would close, and this small smile would creep across his face slowly. It was a smile of pure contentment and happiness. And then when he looked into my eyes, and I could see all the love he held for me and our children… those were the times when I knew that despite my constant bitching and moaning, it was worth it.

The babies loved the sound of Dimitri's voice. They always gave me little kicks and movements when I spoke to them, or when I was lying down stroking my stomach absentmindedly. But as soon as Dimitri stepped through that door in the evening and called out my name, they couldn't keep still. I'd read an article in one of the thousands of pregnancy books and magazines that Dimitri had bought, and it said that between four and six months, the baby could hear a range of different sounds including my voice and speech patterns. It had also said that if you spoke different languages, you might even notice your baby's movement patterns changing when that language was spoken. And it was true. When Dimitri murmured to them in Russian they seemed to calm down; like his voice soothed and relaxed them in the same way it calmed me.

Another bonus that I hadn't counted on was that my fluctuating hormones would make me so horny. My sex drive was through the roof, and considering the fact that Dimitri and I had had a very active sex life before I got pregnant, I hadn't expected it to go any higher. But, the doctor had said that so long as I was comfortable and okay with it, then it was fine for me to have sex as much as I liked; which meant Dimitri was an extremely lucky man and he knew it.

But we couldn't spend all our time in bed. He had to go to work, and over the past couple of months, most of our free time had been taken up with building the nursery; painting and assembling the furniture. I did as much as I could while Dimitri was at work, but it was still tiring. So Lissa decided that we all needed a day off.

Which is how I found myself wandering down the high street, my arm linked with Lissa's while Dimitri and Christian hung a few steps behind us, sulking about the fact that we were shopping; and trying to give us some space to just talk about 'girlyness' as they called it. I normally liked shopping; but we'd been walking around for almost the entire day and my feet were starting to ache. Plus, busy shoppers who were blind to the fact that I had a huge pregnant belly kept bashing into me or throwing me dirty looks when I shoulder barged them out of the way.

"Lissa. You've got thirty more minutes, and then we're heading back home."

"Only thirty minutes? An hour, please? Come on Rose, we haven't had the time to just walk around and window shop, properly window shop, for ages."

I could tell that she was about to try and guilt trip me further so I cut in before she could think up her next argument. "I'm tired Liss. Carrying two babies around all day hurts my back, and the doctor said not to over exert myself."

She snorted. "Yeah, and since when did you start taking the doctors advice?" She giggled slightly. "Fine, one more shop and we'll go home. Let's make it a good one."

We started to wander up the road again when suddenly Lissa stopped. My senses snapped into overload immediately, my body tensed ready for an attack. But no masked figures leapt out from the shop doorways, no shoppers started to run around brandishing knives. Instead, Lissa was stood stock still in the middle of the pavement, staring longingly into the window of the bridal shop.

"Look at that dress Rose. It's beautiful." Her voice held a note of wistfulness and longing. "Can we have a look inside?"

I sighed internally and groaned out loud. Lissa had been planning her dream wedding since the day she was born. Everything was planned to perfection – except for the dress. She hadn't found her dress yet; the one that she felt was hers. That would make her feel like a princess, beautiful and proud and amazing on the happiest day of her life. "I know what you're like when you get involved with wedding-related topics. If we go in there, we'll never leave. It's nice Liss, but no, we're not looking inside."

She paused before asking the next question. "Do you… Do you ever worry about the fact that Dimitri hasn't proposed yet?"

I took a little time to think before giving my answer. "To be honest, I hadn't ever thought about it. I didn't ever think I'd fall in love, be in a proper relationship, or have a baby. I mean, I'm pregnant at _nineteen_! With _twins_. That wasn't ever supposed to happen; kids weren't ever a part of my future. So now, when I think about it; seeing as all this other stuff has happened, I'll probably get married sometime. But, it's not something I worry about. Dimitri was stupid enough to tie himself down by knocking me up, so he'll probably be stupid enough to propose at some point in the future. But… if he doesn't, then it doesn't make a difference. He loves me, and I love him. That's enough for me." A smile crept onto my face whenever I thought about Dimitri saying those words to me. Remembering the sound of his deep voice whispering into my ear. _I love you._ It was stupid that just thinking abut him could have this sort of reaction over me, but… right now, if given the choice, I wouldn't change it.

My voice held a tone of finality, and surprisingly, she dropped the subject. "Okay."

We carried on walking for a few minutes until I felt strange feelings through the link. Sadness, fear and worry. Not sadness at being unable to go in the shop, but at something else. "What's wrong Liss?" My voice was soft so Dimitri and Christian didn't worry or try to eavesdrop on our conversation.

"Nothing."

"Vasilisa Dragomir. You know that's not gonna wash. What's wrong? Why do you feel so upset?"

She bit her lip for a second before answering. "It's just… Do you think Christian's ever going to propose?"

That threw me for a second. I'd been expecting worry about our money running out, or being found again; not about how fast her relationship was progressing. "You've only been together for two years Liss, you're only nineteen. Do you think now's really the time to be worrying about something like that?"

"I know it's trivial; but… well Christian's been living with me ever since we got together. I'm his girlfriend but, I don't know… I just wonder whether he sees me as something that's long-term. I just want to know that he's committed to this relationship as much as I am. I'm not saying that he needs to propose today and we get married tomorrow; but sometimes, I just feel insecure."

And I could understand what she meant. Despite Christian being on the run with us, he could go back to his old life as soon as he got bored. Lissa and I would always be living in hiding, wary in case we were ever found. And now that I was pregnant, Dimitri would definitely be sticking around. She knew that he'd stay anyway, because he loved me, but now he had an extra reason to commit. She had no similar hold over Christian, and sometimes it frightened her. She worried that he was only with her for the adventure and excitement, and that if things stayed calm like they were now, he'd leave.

Which made my decision for me. Grabbing her hand and signalling to the guys, we crossed the road quickly. "Twenty minutes to look around, and then we're going home."

Confusion covered her features for a second before realisation crossed her face. "Really?" Taking my nod as consent she let out a huge squeal and hugged me tightly before dragging me into the bridal wear shop.

The guys both had looks of horror plastered across their faces when they saw which shop we were going into, but a quick glare from me made them change their attitudes so that they didn't ruin Lissa's moment.

…..

"Rose!"

"Mmmm? In a minute." I was stood in the corner of the shop with Dimitri, my arms linked round his neck while his were wrapped around my waist tightly, enjoying the time to just kiss him and giggle at the other men in the shop being dragged around by their fiancées. My lips met Dimitri's again for a short minute before I felt a hard tap on my shoulder.

"Rose. You can kiss Dimitri later. Come look for a dress."

"No. No way. We're in here so that you can look for your dress Lissa. I'm just along for the ride. You've got two minutes left, so enjoy them rather than standing here harassing me." I tilted my face back up to Dimitri's, but before his lips could touch mine, Lissa tapped me again.

"Please Rose. Just this once? We never get to go shopping and just look around and try stuff on. We're always watching how much money we spend and looking over our shoulders in case we're found. Please?" And paired with huge puppy dog eyes, I couldn't say no.

"Fine. But I'm only looking around. No trying dresses on." Pressing a quick kiss to Dimitri's mouth, I unlinked my arms and followed Lissa to a few of the rows at the back of the shop. "Have you seen anything good yet?"

"A few like this one. And I've seen a couple that would suit you too." The dress she was holding up for herself was a beaded organza A-line gown with a sweetheart neck and spaghetti straps as well as a chapel train. **(Please read A.N. at end of chapter regarding dresses.)**

I backed up as soon as the words 'you too' registered in my mind. "Oh no Liss. I'm not interested yet. No way. You just look for you." There were a couple of nice dresses, but I wasn't interested in getting married anytime soon.

"Come on. Isn't there even one that would make you want to get married? What if Dimitri proposed tomorrow? Wouldn't you want to at least have an idea of what you'd want? What about this one? Or this one?" The first was a satin organza mermaid style dress with a sweetheart neck, lace cap sleeves and double keyhole back. I didn't like the skirt which was a multi tiered ruffle skirt with flowers. It was a bit too… busy for my tastes. The other was a beaded tulle A-line halter gown with a chapel train.

They were both pretty nice. I could see myself in them, they'd show of my slim waist and killer curves (once I got my figure back) but I wasn't interested in getting married, let alone finding a wedding dress. "I told you Liss. I'm not interested. If Dimitri decided he wanted to get married I'd choose something like these." There were a couple of simple, yet pretty dresses. The first was a strapless silk taffeta A-line gown that had a ruched, dropped waist and ruched bodice. It's back laced-up and had a chapel train. The second dress I pointed out was reminiscent of the Greek toga style. It consisted of a strapless A-line skirt that hung down beautifully to graze the floor. It would emphasise my now non-existent curves and huge bust, whilst looking delicate and feminine. The beaded waist would emphasise my naturally small waist and wide hips; which Dimitri described as 'the perfect hourglass figure'.

However, seeing what I was holding up she made a face. "They're both boring Rose. They're not you. You only get married once in your life, so you need it to be special. Memorable. You can't do that by wearing a plain Jane dress that'll make you look like every other bride out there. You need something to maximize your assets and make you look amazing. That makes the most of you."

I giggled slightly and rolled my eyes. "Yes, oh wise and talented fashionista. I need to 'stand out from the crowd' and 'make a statement' with my dress." I giggled again. "They were nice enough. _If _Dimitri and I did get married, I'd just want a simple service and a dress to match. There'd be hardly anyone there to see it anyway, so why bother with a load of fuss? I told you Liss. I'm not interested in… in…" my voice trailed off and Lissa giggled at my reaction. But I wasn't focused on her anymore. I'd just found _the _dress. _My_ dress. The one that I had to have at the wedding that wasn't going to happen. Despite wanting a simple wedding, this was the dress I needed. It was a sparkling tulle, strapless ball gown with a split front skirt and beaded embroidery throughout the gown. There was a semi-cathedral train to go with it like all the others in the shop. It was a princess dress. It was my dress.

I gazed at it hungrily, suddenly wishing Dimitri would go down on one knee right here in the middle of the shop so I could buy it. Lissa giggled again and tapped me one the shoulder, resorting to shaking me to re-capture my attention. "If you like it that much, why don't you go try it on?"

That made me burst out into laughter. "Lissa, I'm the size of a house. That wouldn't even fit over my chest right now, let alone my stomach." Shaking my head, I took a few steps back. "Come on. We'll bully Christian into proposing and then we'll come back. Soon." I gave the dress one last longing glance before grabbing Dimitri's hand and walking out of the shop.

Walking towards the bus stop, Dimitri kept casting me curious glances, but I ignored it. I knew that he was waiting for the chance to question my reaction in the shop, but I didn't want him to feel guilty. If he wanted to marry me, he would. I was fine with the way we were, and I didn't want Lissa's thoughts to lodge in my brain permanently.

We were a couple of streets away from the stop when I felt that familiar urge. "Guys, I need to go to the loo. You walk on to the bus stop and I'm going to pop into one of these cafés quickly."

Sensing that someone was about to argue I fixed them all with a glare. "Seriously, I don't need a babysitter. You know how it is; the baby places pressure on your bladder and you need to go to the toilet more often, yadda yadda yadda. No one needs to come with me; all I'm doing is going to the toilet. I'll be back before you know it."

Dimitri frowned, but I beat him to it. "Dimitri Belikov, if you start with all that crap again, my hormones are going to get the better of me and I'll punch you right here on the street in front of everyone." Probably remembering the many punches he'd received from me while we were still in The Academy, he kissed me quickly before letting go of my hand.

"Be careful. I love you."

I shot him a cheeky grin before heading back towards the shops. "I love you too. And I always am."

…..

How wrong I was. I didn't even realise that I was being followed into the shop until it was too late. A cloth was pressed over my mouth and before I could react, I was fading into the darkness.

_We live and we learn to take  
One step at a time  
There's no need to rush  
It's like learning to fly  
Or falling in love  
It's gonna happen and it's  
Supposed to happen that we  
Find the reasons why  
On step at a time_

You believe and you doubt  
You're confused, you got it all figured out  
Everything that you wished for  
Could be yours, should be yours, would be yours  
If they only knew

_One step at a time – Jordin Sparks._

I woke up feeling confused with a bad taste in my mouth. Looking around groggily, I gulped down the glass of water that was beside my bed before glancing at my watch. _Crap._ I'd been asleep for hours. Except, I didn't remember falling asleep.

Alarm flooded into me as I sat up fully, only to feel gentle hands pushing me back down. "Hey, take it easy. That stuff makes you really woozy, and since you're pregnant you need to rest more than you would if you weren't."

"No, you don't understand. The babies, are they okay?" Clutching at my stomach I struggled to sit up again.

"Rose calm down. We've checked you and the babies out; you're all fine. They weren't affected when you were… knocked out. Try to relax; too much stress isn't good for them or you."

Focusing on who had spoken I saw that it was Alberta Petrov. The agent who'd been with Dimitri in the alleyway; and the one who'd seemed upset when Kirova told Dimitri to go down to the holding cells. Remembering what had happened to Dimitri down there made my anger flare up for a second, but she was right, and it was gone almost instantly when a wave of dizziness hit.

"I feel like shit. What did you guys do, hit me with a shovel?"

She looked guilty for a second before answering. "Chloroform. Despite what you think, we don't want to hurt you Rose."

I stared at her for a long second before replying. "I believe that _you_ don't want to hurt me; the other agents in this building, I'm not so sure about."

She looked like she was going to argue, but then realised that I was right. "You're probably right. They probably just want the chance to fight you again; most of the guys are still a little shame-faced after you beat them to a pulp last time. But, you'd be surprised. No one here wants to hurt you, or Miss. Dragomir or Dimitri." Her breath hitched slightly when she said Dimitri's name, and I could see fondness and worry in her eyes.

"Well since I'm in no position to kick your ass and escape, we may as well have a little chat." She seemed surprised which made me laugh. "Come on, I'm not that bad. I know how to co-operate. It's starting to sound like Dimitri didn't make very good notes when he was working undercover."

She laughed for a second, but then her face saddened. "He made good notes, but he was always reluctant to hand them in. Always finding an excuse, or some reason to delay giving us an update. He cared for you from the beginning Rose, and I can see that you understand that now." Her eyes rested on my stomach for a second. "He hated that assignment; when you found out in the alley, that wasn't the first time he requested a change. But I knew what would happen if he requested a change from Kirova, she would punish him and I was trying to spare him from that. So I always persuaded him to go back, and carry on as normal. I'm so sorry that you got hurt Rose, but I couldn't let that happen to him…"

"You think of him as a son don't you?" Both of our voices were soft, and her face was strangely vulnerable.

"I do. I'm close friends with his mother. We trained to become agents together, but she gave it up once she settled down and had her children. When Dimitri moved to America to train as an agent, she asked me to look after him and I did. He's known me all his life, so we were like family anyway; but him being here full time just made us even closer. I don't have kids of my own, so yes, he's my surrogate son." A small smile had crept onto her face again when she spoke of Dimitri. I'd expected her to look upon him with disdain since he'd abandoned his job, and her, to escape with me.

"Aren't you angry that he left his job, and you, to escape with me? That he's turned his back on you?"

"On the contrary Rose, I'm pleased for him. Despite your expertise in killing, torture and all that other grisly business, I know you're a good person. In his reports, Dimitri never spoke about you as some killing machine. You were 'loyal', 'beautiful', 'understanding', 'fierce', 'protective' and so much more. He loves you Rose, and I can't be angry with him for that. I'm happy that he's found you and that he has the chance to be with you. Too many agents enter this job, and think that they'll leave after a few years. It happens very rarely, and never for love. So I'm glad that he saw his chance and took it, he deserves a better life than this one. We do good things, but we're stuck here permanently."

"Alberta, you seem really nice, and very honest. But you and the rest of the agents working for The Academy don't do good things. You rip families apart and ruin lives. You do nothing but bad. You want Lissa."

This time, the smile left her face and her gaze became serious. "You've got it all wrong Rose, and that's what we've been trying to tell you from the beginning. We're trying to protect Miss. Dragomir like we were hired to do."

I snorted, "Yeah yeah, hired by some corrupt business man or congressman who wants to manipulate Lissa so that he can use her family name, wealth and status to get ahead."

"That's not who we were hired by."

"Then who was it? Go on surprise me."

"Eric Dragomir."

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**Hehe, huge cliffy/shocker for you! :D The next chapter will be up on Friday cos I don't think I'll be done by tomorrow xx**

**Please go onto my page to see the dresses. They're absolutely gorgeous and I think that seeing them will improve this chapter even more since I'm rubbish at describing clothing. They'll be posted under: 'Who are you, really? dresses.' Rose's dream dress is first. Then the plain dress****es. Then Lissa's dress followed by the two that Lissa picks out for Rose. Xx**


	14. Chapter 14

**I'm so sorry for the late update! Here's the proper chapter 14! My internet's been playing up since Wednesday and I had no time at school to write this chapter so it ended up being written over the weekend. Thank you to SWEmicca and rivereq for the baby names! Xx**

**PRINCESSKATERINA – no probs sweetie! Hehe I'm glad you liked it :) and here's the proper version, so hopefully, it'll make even more sense! xx**

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I snorted. "Sure. Lissa's dad hired you. To what? Stalk us for the rest of our lives?"

She shook her head, the serious expression still etched onto her face. "No. He hired us just before Andre was born."

"If he'd done that, I'd have found out about it at some point. He would have told me - I'm Lissa's bodyguard."

"I know, and he knew that too Rose. He was probably going to tell you once you and Lissa turned eighteen – before you would have moved out."

"That doesn't make sense." But it did. Flashbacks from my past were starting to resurface. Memories of overhearing Eric and Rhea talking about checking up on the security flashed through my mind. I'd thought they'd been referring to security cameras or something similar; but maybe it had been something entirely different. Maybe Alberta was telling the truth? "Why did you take me instead of Lissa? Not that I want you guys to get her, but why didn't you take her while she was within reach?"

"Because we needed to explain to you Rose. Time's running out; an agent found you when you were in the hotel - you got shot because another agency found you and Miss. Dragomir. That can't happen again. Next time, you might not be the one caught in the crossfire. Or you might be, and then your child won't have a mother; Dimitri won't have you. We need to keep Miss. Dragomir safe, but she doesn't know who to trust. You do, and she trusts your judgement. But we knew that you wouldn't talk to us if we approached you in the street and asked to pop into a café and have a chat. So we had to bring you here."

"Okay, so say that I do believe part of what you're saying. And that for some crazy reason Eric did hire you, why would he have done it in the first place?"

"Eric hired us to guard you, Vasilisa and Andre. He had his own bodyguards for his wife and himself; but he wanted to make sure you kids were looked after. He knew that being such a prominent figure in business had its risks, and he wanted to make sure that if anything happened to him or his wife – you'd be safe. When you kids were with them, their bodyguards were responsible for your wellbeing; but if you went out alone then it became our job. The day they died, we were watching you and Vasilisa. The bodyguards were taken out before the Dragomirs were killed. By the time we found out that someone was tracking them, we were too late. And then a couple of weeks later, you and Vasilisa disappeared. We kept trying to find you; worried that her family's killers would get to you first. But every time we got close, you'd realise we were there and leave before we got the chance to explain."

"Then who are all these other agencies? Eric didn't hire them too."

"No. They're after Vasilisa, like you said, for her name and her money. Eric worried people would manipulate her into doing the wrong thing, supporting the wrong causes, but her knew that you'd protect her from that – that she trusts you and your judgement. Other agencies know that too, and that's why we were hired to protect _you_ as well as Vasilisa. They'd want t take you out, and he thought of you as family. He didn't want you, any of you, to get hurt because of his job."

"But… who killed him? Why did they kill him? He wasn't doing anything corrupt – his business was the cleanest out there."

"And that's exactly why they killed him. Corruption makes profit. Though Eric wasn't in the public eye, and very few actually knew about him; he had lots of contacts. Lots of congressmen and senators liked him, and listened to what he had to say. His morals were changing politics and business, the way that people thought about it. Those changes were for the benefit of the public, and not everyone was happy with it. They liked the way that things were; with the people at the top getting the best in life and the people at the bottom in a continual struggle."

"So they killed him because he was trying to do the right thing."

She nodded, her eyes sad. "Yes."

"Poor Eric. Rhea and Andre just got caught up in it because they were his family." A few tears leaked out of the corners of my eyes and I couldn't help but sniffle. "Sorry, I don't usually cry; it's these stupid pregnancy hormones."

Hearing this, her eyes rested on my stomach and a small smile crossed her face. "Do you know what you're having?"

"Not yet. We've not decided whether we want to find out the sex, or to just wait until the birth and let it be a surprise. We know that we're having twins though." I smiled and stroked my stomach. "I want twin boys, but Dimitri wants twin girls. Ever since we found out that I was pregnant he's been like a kid on Christmas morning, in a state of constant excitement."

She laughed. "You don't sound too enthusiastic."

"I am, I just know how to keep it controlled. And I have to face the harsh reality you know? I'm pregnant at nineteen by my boyfriend who I've only known for a year and a half. Considering the fact that I hated him for six months, it's only been a year. And then there's going to be all that pain when I go into labour, I'm not looking forward to that."

"Do you love him?"

I looked up to meet her eyes startled. "Of course I do. Why would you think that I didn't?"

"I never said that I thought you didn't. But trust me Rose, it wouldn't make a difference. If you'd known him for five years rather than one, or one and a half, would it be any better? Or would it make things worse? You've been through a lot; and perhaps, moving so quickly is what makes you work. Would you have had time to stay in a relationship for years and years before you decided that it was time to settle down, or would you have left with Vasilisa by then?"

I didn't like to be wrong, but I'd admit to it when it happened. "You're right, I would have moved on with Liss by then. I probably would have ended the relationship after a couple more months. I just never expected things to turn out like this. It's like the whole world's been tipped on its head."

She laughed again. "Life always throws strange things at you Rose. And it just gets worse with age."

We both laughed before lapsing into silence.

"Have you got any name ideas yet?"

"Damn! I knew we forgot to buy something!" She was looking at me in confusion. "Baby name books, we were going to buy some when we went shopping; and Lissa wanting to go in that damn wedding dress shop made me forget!"

A grin lit up her face, making her look years younger. "I think I might have some in my room somewhere. They'll be years old, the last time I used them was when Dimitri's mum was trying to find a name for her youngest child, but names don't change that much. They might help you think of something."

…..

Half an hour later, we were both searching through the two books Alberta had managed to dig out, jotting down ideas on a sheet of paper.

"Have you found any good ones yet?" She was looking for boys and I was looking for girls.

"A couple. What about Eric, Zachariah, Eamon or Kaliq?"

"I like Eric; in honour of the man who inadvertently set all this in motion. What do they mean?"

"In here, Eric's Scandinavian meaning is 'powerful ruler'. Its English meaning is 'brave ruler', so they're kind of similar. Zachariah is Hebrew and means 'God remembers'. Eamon is Irish, meaning 'prosperous protector' and Kaliq is Arabic meaning 'creative'. Oh and there's Matvey which is Russian; meaning gift of God. It's a version of Matthew."

"I like them except for Kaliq. And Matvey would be nice, in honour of Dimitri's heritage. Good work Alberta."

She grinned and stood taking a mock bow. "Thank you, thank you for your kind words. What did you find?"

"Astrid, Alyssa and Veronique. Astrid is Greek or Norse, meaning 'divine strength'. Alyssa is Greek too, meaning 'logical, rational, flower'. I figure the logical, rational part is Dimitri; and I'm the flower. And surprisingly, Veronique is Latin, not French, but it's a form of Veronica. It means 'true image, like her mother'. So if we do have two girls like Dimitri's hoping for and one of them looks and acts like me, we could name her Veronique."

"That sounds good. Astrid's rarely used, so it's something unique."

A flash through the link made me grin. "So what do we do now?"

"We wait for orders from higher up and then go looking for Miss. Dragomir."

My grin grew even wider. "Or we could just wait for her to get here."

On cue Alberta's earpiece went off. There was a load of shouting and commotion in the background, so it was difficult to hear what the person on the other end was saying. "Petrov, three people have broken into The Academy. Belikov's one of them and the other is claiming to be Miss. Vasilisa Dragomir. All three are armed, but they've not acted offensively yet, they're demanding that we release Miss. Hathaway. What should we do?"

By now Alberta and I were running, well in my case waddling, down the corridor towards the source of all the noise. "Don't hurt them; just try to keep them in the building. We can't let them leave unprotected. Just try to calm them all, especially Dimitri, and let them know that we're on our way down."

Neither of us spoke again after Alberta gave him instructions. We were both focused on our own thoughts and feelings. Alberta looked worried; the same way I was feeling. I couldn't wait to see Dimitri, Lissa and Christian again, to know that they were okay. But I was frightened at the same time; at the fact that Lissa's life was in more danger than I'd originally thought, and that she wouldn't believe me when I told her. Shrugging off my fears, I followed Alberta out of the stairwell and into the main foyer.

It was chaos.

Agents were spread in a clumsy circle, yelling random instructions at each other rather than doing it themselves. Some were shouting into earpieces and walkie talkies, while others had guns trained on the three people in the middle or the floor, and yet others were yelling at everyone to calm down and relax. Pretty hard to relax if you're being shouted at.

Yet I was focused on the three people in the middle. Christian was there, stoic and fierce at the same time; one hand holding Lissa's whilst the other held a gun trained directly in front of him ready to clear them a path. Lissa was next, a mixture of fear, excitement and determination flowing through her body and onto her face. She was worried about coming here, but she was determined to keep me safe and protect me the way I'd always protected her. I could feel through the link that she didn't have a gun, but she did have a knife hidden in one of her boots. Dimitri had shown her a couple of defensive and offensive moves to use before they'd stormed the building, and she was ready to use them.

And then there was Dimitri. He was breathtaking. Jaw dropping. Awe inspiring. He was stood behind the two of them, his body alert and ready for an attack. He held a gun in each hand, one pointing into the crowd of agents; and the other pressed against the side of Lissa's head. Panic flooded into me when I saw this, fright that he'd actually been double crossing us again; but then Lissa's eyes found mine and I felt her reassurance through the bond. He wasn't going to shoot her - it was part of their plan. He would pretend to hold her hostage until they saw that I was released. She was the bargaining chip, because they knew that The Academy wouldn't risk her safety. I nodded, letting her know that I was okay, and then focused back on Dimitri.

His eyes scanned the room continuously. Making sure that none of the agents suddenly decided to be risky and try to shoot or 'rescue' Lissa. But once they fell on me, the stopped. Reassurance and relief flowed though his face, and I could feel his gaze as he took me in, checking to see that I wasn't bruised or injured.

Satisfied with his assessment he nudged Lissa slightly and she spoke. "You know who we want. Rose is over there, so if you'll let her, Dimitri and Christian go free I'll stay." Through the link I could tell this wasn't true either. They were going to grab me and run.

The agents obviously thought this too, because they burst into an even louder commotion than before. Some were shouting to take this chance, whilst others were yelling that it had to be a trap. It was pathetic. Grabbing Alberta's hand, I started to slowly push my way through the crowd. We were making slow progress, with Alberta trying to calm the agents around us and to get them to spread the word to be quiet; when I was ripped from her grasp.

Glancing up in shock, I found that I'd been grabbed by Stan Alto. Dimitri had often told me about his strong dislike for this particular agent; and he had also been one of the agents who I'd enjoyed beating up continuously during my time as a captive. He'd been fond of giving me bread and water on the days that Dimitri hadn't brought my meals, and so I'd retaliated by humiliating him at every opportunity. His fighting skills were poor, and his comebacks were even worse. Most of the time, his so-called fellow agents had openly laughed at him when I'd taken the piss.

Back then, he'd held a lot of resentment; but now I could see in his eyes that that bitterness had turned into something stronger. Hate. Glaring back at him, I tried to tug my hand free, but he only tightened his grip and yanked me through the crowd even faster. Flailing my free arm around, I tried to grab onto the agents in the crowd; but they were too busy arguing, and shook me off. My voice wasn't loud enough to be heard over the noise of all the agents and Stan was tugging me along too fast for me to make a scene and grab someone's attention.

Glancing back through the crowd, I could see the top of Alberta's head turning around in confusion trying to see where I'd disappeared to; and Dimitri's anxious face as he tried to catch sight of me. We locked eyes for a second as he scanned the crowd again, but by the time he realised and looked back, Stan had already dragged me closer to the edge; and with one last tug we were round the corner and out of sight.

Finally, he spun us and pushed me backwards so that I would have to get past him to get back to the crowd of agents, and more importantly, Dimitri. "What do you want Stan?"

He grinned at me, but there was no friendliness behind the smile. It was more like he was baring his teeth at me in a crude imitation of a smile. "You."

"Me?" I was baffled. What the hell would Stan want with me?

"Yes, you. Dimitri's in 'love' with you. I can't stand that little Russian toad, but I know that at this moment in time he treasures you above everything. I don't see why. You're an easy little slut; cold-hearted and cruel, who doesn't have any morals or values." He paused and seemed to think for a minute before continuing. "Actually, now that I've said it I can see how that appeals to him. It probably reminds him of the women back home, and his character is the same as yours. Selfish, greedy, all about instant gratification. In fact, you're perfect for each oth-"

He'd gotten so carried away with his little rant that he didn't notice me stalk up to him until my fist connected with his face. There was a satisfying _crack_ as his nose broke and I grinned at his howl of pain. He glared at me, while clutching at his nose with one hand and trying to swing at me with the other. I'd said before that he was a terrible fighter, and the broken nose didn't do him any favours.

His punch was uncoordinated and wildly out of range, leaving me smirking and him even more enraged. "Don't you dare talk about Dimitri in that way. He's the best operative out there, and I can see from your terrible punches that it's jealousy talking. You haven't improved since I was here last, and you should be ashamed that you've just had your arse kicked by a heavily pregnant nineteen year old girl."

He spat at me and tried to swing again, and this time I used his momentum to swing him into the wall. He thumped against it heavily, winding himself in the process, and I used those few seconds reprieve to twist his arm up behind his back. It was painful, but if he tried to move it would be excruciating and he'd most likely dislocate his shoulder. "Why do you hate Dimitri so much? What did he ever do to you?"

He struggled and tried to rip himself free, but I simply twisted his arm a little higher, grimacing when he emitted a little yelp of pain. Normally, I'd have enjoyed the fact that I was beating him so easily and that he was in such discomfort, but again the pregnancy hormones were twisting my emotions all over the place. Instead, I felt pity for Stan, and even a little sympathetic. It can't be easy, being overshadowed by an agent who's a third of your age and with only a fraction of your experience. But that still didn't explain why he hated Dimitri so much. "Why Stan?"

He struggled for another minute before seemingly giving up. "Because he's the goddamned golden boy! Thirty years I've been here; and as soon as he turns up, I'm out of the picture. It's not fair! After all the work I've put in, why was I overlooked so easily?" There was a plaintive note in his voice, and my grip loosened, understanding how he felt. He was hurt and upset, and these _damn_ hormones were making me tear up at the thought of poor Stan.

Until he took advantage of my loosened hold and spun suddenly, his hand pinning me to the wall by my neck. Shocked, I tried to pry at his fingers to get him to relax his grip so I could breathe. But his fingers were like pincers, and that cruel smile came across his face again.

"Pity. I thought you were too smart to fall for that Hathaway." He snorted. "I _hate_ Belikov. And I'm going to ruin his life by taking yours. For fifteen years I've been on this case for Dashkov, trying to find out any information that would help. But The Academy was too damn cautious. Wouldn't let me near the files, just sent me out to do fieldwork all the time But I waited and waited; hoped that eventually I'd get promoted up the case to do more important jobs. But what happens? _Belikov_ comes over from Russia, and gets the case immediately. All my years of undercover work and training wasted. Wasted! If I don't get something good, Dashkov's going to drop me; and then I'll be stuck in this hell hole forever. That can't happen – I won't let it!"

He shook me slightly and my head banged against the wall only furthering the black spots at the edge of my vision. Realising that I was on the verge of passing out, I clawed at his hands more urgently, trying to get him to let up on his hold. But the pain didn't seem to be registering in his mind because he grinned and placed a hand onto my stomach. "You're going to die right here Rosemarie, and so are your babies. Once you're all dead, Belikov will fall apart, and there'll be no one to look after Miss. Dragomir. That boy can be taken care of, and Dashkov will have what he wants. And I'll get my pay out, as well as the satisfaction of seeing Dimitri break apart."

I'd dimly noticed in my subconscious that everything had gone silent; but thought it was due to the lack of air. Seeing the black spots grow larger, I cast my eyes around frantically, desperate to see something that I could use to save my life. And that was what saved me. My eyes caught sight of Dimitri's brown ones, narrowed towards Stan's unsuspecting form as he crept closer to us. My eyes widened slightly and Stan must have seen because he spun to see what was happening.

Because he spun, I was able to twist on his hold and slip out of his grip, collapsing to the floor. Because he moved forwards slightly to spin, and I'd slid to the floor, Dimitri then had the assurance that I was safe, and the space to fire directly into the middle of Stan's forehead.

It was over, hopefully.

Before Stan even hit the floor, I was scooped up safely in Dimitri's arms and carried out of the corridor. Lissa was trailing behind us, and Christian behind her as Dimitri followed Alberta down the corridor. A few agents had scuttled in to clean up what was left of Stan, and the rest lined the corridor as we passed through, their faces pale and anxious. A few nodded to Dimitri, whilst others cast their eyes away, embarrassment covering their features.

But I didn't care. Right now I was intent on staying safe in Dimitri's arms, and gulping in as much air as quickly as possible.

Dimitri had followed Alberta into a small side room, and placed me onto the bed gently before pulling up a chair so he could sit beside me. A few minutes later, another 'nurse' came in with an oxygen mask and an ultrasound machine. While I clutched at the mask, she explained to me gently. "We're just going to make sure that those few minutes when age- when Mr. Alto was choking you didn't stress the babies. It's a basic ultrasound, and then you can rest up."

I nodded and squeezed Dimitri's hand gently as she lifted my top to squeeze some of that weird cold gel over my stomach before placing the sensor on top. It took a few seconds before we saw a graining black and white image pop up onto the screen. She moved the sensor slightly to the right so we could see the first baby clearly. "There's you're little boy, and there's…" she moved the sensor to the left to get a clearer view of the second baby "…your little girl. Both perfectly healthy and fine."

Dimitri chuckled slightly. "I guess it's not a surprise anymore Roza."

The 'nurse' however, looked mortified. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I thought you already knew what you were having. So many people nowadays don't wait until the birth to find out. I just assumed that you were the same."

I waved off her apologies. "It's fine, at least now we know what colour to paint the nursery. Can you give u a few minutes alone please?" She nodded and walked out quickly; and I watched amused as Lissa stood up to leave too. "Where do you think you're going Liss?"

"I thought you wanted a couple of minutes to talk to Dimitri." I grinned and squeezed his hand before looking back at her. "I do, but first I need to talk to you." Alberta caught my eye, understanding what I was going to talk about, and nodded before standing and leaving the room quietly. "First, let me get this gunk off my stomach. Have you got any tissues?" Liss laughed and threw me the packet before pulling up another chair so she could sit beside the bed too.

"Does it have something to do with why we haven't left yet? And why Stan was going on about working for Victor Dashkov, my dad's business partner?"

"Yeah. What I'm about to say is going to sound absolutely crazy; but please just try to think of everything as a possibility."

She nodded, he eyes deep and serious, holding onto Christian's hand lightly as I began to explain. "We've had it wrong from the beginning. Well, not all of it, just some of it. The Academy was hired by your dad to take care of us kids. He was worried someone would try to bump him off, and so, despite me being _your_ protection; they were _our_ protection. You, me and Andre. Some other agency killed you parents and Andre; and I think that we can safely say that it was Victor Dashkov who had them killed. We went into hiding anyway, and The Academy kept searching for us to try and make sure that we were okay. But I thought that they were going to hurt you, or manipulate you, so I kept them away. T turns out, that not a lot of the agents actually knew the whole story; all they knew was that they needed to find us and bring us back here. That's why Dimitri was assigned to us, to get close without us realising, so that they'd have the chance to explain. You know everything that happened after that, but the short and short of it is that The Academy is actually on our side, and that Victor Dashkov most certainly is not. You're not part of that business world anyway, so you should be okay Liss. And with the added security that can be provided by The Academy's agents, you'll be a lot safer than having me alone."

She was silent for a minute, her mind thinking through everything I'd just told her; and piecing together memories from her childhood. Once she was satisfied she leant forwards and hugged me hard. "If you say that they're okay, then I believe you Rose. You're my best friend, and I trust you undoubtedly. It's a lot to take in, but it's a big relief in a way." She hugged me again before pulling back. "I'm just glad you, my niece and my nephew are okay." Saying this she placed a hand against my stomach, smiling when she felt a couple of kicks and then standing up. "They're definitely okay. I'll let you and Dimitri have some time alone now. I think I need to talk to Alberta and see what else we've missed out on."

"Okay, see you later Liss. And you Christian."

He grinned before hugging me gently. "I'm glad you're okay too. It wouldn't be the same without you."

They left and shut the doors behind them quietly. And once they were gone Dimitri moved from the chair to perch on the side of the bed. His strong brown eyes surveyed my face taking in my face before he cupped my chin and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. "I'm so glad you're okay. When I saw Stan pinning you to the wall like that, I was frozen. I was so scared that you or the babies wouldn't make it through."

"Shhhh." I pressed a finger to his lips to calm him. "I'm fine now, and so are our babies. Taking his hand and placing it against my stomach, we both smiled when we felt a few soothing familiar kicks from our babies. "We're all okay.2 He nodded and I pressed my lips to his again, gently stroking down the side of his face.

Just as I felt him begin to deepen the kiss the door flew open. We broke apart to stare at whoever had chosen to interrupt at this moment, to find the 'nurse' standing there blushing. "Sorry, I just came back to get the equipment. I can come back later if you want."

I was about to tell her that yes, that would be much better, but Dimitri beat me to it. "That would be fine, thank you." He trailed kisses across the side of my face while she collected up all the stuff she'd used before murmuring her apologies and leaving once more.

As soon as the door closed my lips sought his out hungrily. These pregnancy hormones were doing something right for a change. He broke the kiss once he realised what I was doing and laughed softly as I tried and failed to pull him closer. "Roza, we're in a medical room at The Academy. No matter how much we both want to, I don't think this is the time or the place."

"My horny pregnant body says otherwise. And so does your muscled sexy one. Even though it's only been a day, I feel like it's been weeks…" Giving up on getting him to kiss me again, I let my hands slide up under his shirt to trace across his chest before venturing further south inch by inch.

"Roza. We can't." His voice was strangled and I smiled to myself before continuing. My hands slid down, and once they passed over his stomach he shivered and caught my wrists. "We really can't."

"But I really want to. And I know you do too. So quit fighting and kiss me." He didn't kiss me, but his hold weakened on mine as my hands continued their descent. Finding their target I let my body press up against his before whispering into his ear. "You definitely want to. So now that you've stopped fighting, kiss me."

And kiss me he did. His lips crashed to mine urgently, pent up need making the kiss forceful and strong. I couldn't help the moan that broke free once I felt him give himself over to me completely, and hearing this he laid me back gently before moving so that he was hovering over me rather than kneeling beside the bed.

We kissed like that for a few more minutes, relearning the taste and touch and feel of each others mouths before he pulled away gently.

"Come back." His lips met mine again in another passionate kiss before he pulled away and got off me completely.

"The door needs tot be locked. The last thing we want is for someone to walk in unannounced." By the time he'd finished speaking, he was lying next to me again. "The crazy things you make me do Roza." His voice was a murmur as his lips trailed down my neck and across my collar bone before moving back up to claim my mouth.

"But that's why you love me." He murmured his agreement as his hands lifted my top, and he broke the kiss quickly to pull both of our shirts off.

I linked my arms around his neck, pulling him closer so I could deepen the kiss before trailing my hands down to the waistband of his trousers to undo them. He lifted his body to help me slide them down as far as possible before doing the same to me, and before I knew it, all of our clothes were lying in a crumpled heap on the floor. I was clutching him to me, and his lips were moving with mine. Feeling the urgency growing in me, I lifted one of my legs to wrap around his waist and let him know I was ready for him.

This kiss was fierce and lust-driven and all I could focus on was the lust and love pounding through my body. Dimitri rolled slowly so I was straddling him, and I shifted to get even closer. Staring into his eyes, I lifted my body gently, letting Dimitri's hands guide my hips until I was positioned directly over him.

Still looking at each other, I felt my breathing hitch as my body lowered to take him in gently before pushing back up again. This time, his hands moved to the small of my back to pull my against his chest, while I moved up and down against him; keeping the pace slow. It was more intense, more sensual, and gave us the time to enjoy being together. Hearing his breath catch, I smiled and leant forward to kiss him, the gentleness the perfect accompaniment to the smooth motion of our bodies as we rocked against each other.

Feeling the familiar sensations of my climax getting closer, my rocks began to become stronger and more forceful; which only seemed to enhance the effect that Dimitri seemed to have on my body. He groaned slightly and gripped at my hips harder, before moaning my name_. Roza._ That was all I needed to hear for the pace to change again, this tie becoming faster and more… I didn't even know.

My mind blanked as my body seemed to fall, feeling the coil of pleasure in my stomach twisting as what I could only describe as one of the purest feelings ran through me. I didn't have the strength to cry out, and instead collapsed against Dimitri's chest breathing heavily as he panted against my neck

We sat like that for a few minutes, just holding each other in the after glow before Dimitri shifted so that we were lying down in the bed. His fingers stroked down my back, much like that first night after I met him in the club, and my fingers traced the outline of his face just as gently.

…..

I don't know how long we laid there, just content to be in each others arms, until Dimitri spoke. "I know we didn't buy the baby books when we went shopping, but have you thought of any names yet?"

I smiled and leant forwards to press my lips to his gently before answering. "Alberta let me look through a couple of hers. For our baby boy I'd definitely like to have 'Eric' in there somewhere, to say thank you. And I liked the sound of Matvey, to relate back to your heritage. They've both got beautiful meanings too."

His eyes smiled at me, and a proud smile worked its way onto his face. "A little boy. Our little boy. It sounds old fashioned and silly, but it's someone to carry on the Belikov name; and like you wanted, it's someone to wrestle with and to pass all your fighting skills onto."

"Definitely. I'm going to be teaching our daughter too. Make sure none of the boys try to push her around once she starts at school. Or when she's older."

At the mention of 'daughter' Dimitri's eyes softened and a gentler smile worked its way onto his face. "She'll be fierce, loyal, protective and beautiful like you I hope." A happy sigh escaped his lips. "A baby girl, our baby girl. I'll get to watch out for her, and beat up all her boyfriends, and always hold a soft spot for her because she's my baby girl."

"You've turned all soft and gooey Dimitri." I laughed gently and pressed another kiss to his lips. "Astrid, Alyssa and Veronique were the names I found. Do you have any ideas?"

"I don't have any for our son; I like your idea of naming him Eric. But… I'd like to name our daughter Micaela."

"That's a beautiful name. You sound like you've thought about this for a lot longer than the past five minutes."

He laughed softly, but there was a slight touch of sadness in his eyes. "I have Roza. Mikhail was an agent; one who I respected and looked up to. He was killed when his assignment went wrong… when he didn't go through with what he was supposed to do. He was dealt with, and of course, people gossip and spread what they hear. After hearing the horror of what happened to Mikhail, my mindset changed. Like you, I couldn't believe that The Academy had killed him simply for falling in love with Sonya. I understood that she was his assignment; but now I understand that you can't control love. He was the first one to realise it. He tried to be with the woman he loved, and he was killed for it. But if he hadn't fallen in love with her, I would have turned you in to The Academy straightaway, I wouldn't have hesitated. And we wouldn't be together. So it's thanks to him that we're together; that things turned out the way they did. That's why, if we have a girl, I'd like to name her Micaela; after him."

There were tears in my eyes when I thought of what must have happened. "He was a brave man, and I'm thankful too. Without him, we wouldn't be where we are now. I'd be honoured to name our daughter Micaela."

He smiled at me, and the sadness in his eyes slowly faded as he stroked my bump before pressing a tender kiss to it and trailing kisses up to my lips. "Thank you Roza. I love our babies and I love you."

My fingers twined into his hair gently to pull him closer. "And I love you."

_Cinderella walked on broken glass.  
__Sleeping Beauty let a lifetime pass.  
__Belle fell in love with a beast.  
__Princess Jasmine chose a common thief.  
__Ariel walked on land for love.  
__Snow White barely escaped a knife.  
__It was all about blood, sweat, and tears  
__because love means facing your BIGGEST fears.  
__We come to love not by finding a perfect person,  
__but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly._

* * *

**I can'****t believe that was the last chapter of Who are you, really? :'( But thank you so much for reading and reviewing and alerting this story as I wrote it; and most importantly, for enjoying reading it! I can't thank you enough. :):):) The response that I've had for this has been the best out of all the stories I've written so far; and I feel like I've really improved upon my style and techniques when writing. This story was a heck of a lot more graphic than the stories I've usually written, and I was worried at the start as to whether you'd like it or not, but I'm very pleased to see that it was a hit with all of you amazing readers. I will now be going back to Rose, Craig and the Alchemists; and after New Years, I will be reposting True Love? Or The End? Which is the sequel to True Love Never Runs Smooth.**

**Thank you all for reading, and I hope you have a very merry and blessed Christmas; and a brilliant New Years! xx**

**So here's my final thank you! Thank you to; UnderworldVampirePrincess, the anonymous reviewer, rivereq, , laineylane03, vampireacademy101, Badass Hathaway, saraiibelikov, DimkasRoza, Twilighternproud, redglasses, loveyy10, Nefarious1972, talkygirl, DarkRomanceAddict, snowdrop0594, vox ad umbram sum, Xoxo Vampire Lover oxoX, Chella Vampa, IHeartVA, Rachel-rob-Sandwich, addicted2reading28, lovethefang, CullenCoverGirl88, 1-with-th-Sakura-Blossoms, **

**IloveCeci, soccaplayer71, pandabear, iluvbooks379, Cherrygirl320, lynnHathaway, i-bit-a-pillow-or-two, -x- moonlightvampire-x-, Angel of love3142, XXXDimitrixRozaXXX, random4evea, I AM ROSE HATHAWAY, PeaceRoseG'ladheon, D., SWEmicca, OMG, SwiftPaw95, stella-bear, Caza101, norikac, lovedimitri, miti1, Rose-Dimitri-Hathaway-Belikov, Farmer Joe-Gothic-Fairy, crazygirl2810, Kadiem02, Alkerr, xoxdreamrrxox, Kester04, mosie66, **

**keyohalovette, mdanser, penguin1, Princes Lexi, Ms. Damon Salvatore, BreannaNash, vampirepalaii, markme, vampirelover081, , whitegufl-rachelfish, PRINCESSKATERINA, PhilandLil, Miss Katie Ivashkov, crazy book reader, Bibi7, amandamowdy, DelicateSoul, TheDanishGirl, 23, YuliaRox, adrianslittledamphir, JaSpErAndeEmMeTtLoVeR, (), rainbow645, tylerw, BrittanyBoo1224, Claudette's, murderthethirst101, ShirinBelikov, writeyourlove and southernrebel96!**


	15. SEQUEL announcement!

HUGE thanks to everyone who voted on my poll, left a message in their review or PM'ed me with their thoughts on whether there should be a sequel or not.

I'm very sorry that it's taken me so long to get around to putting this A.N. up, but I am very pleased to announce that **there will be a sequel to this story!** I've already started writing it, and so it should start to be posted during the summer, around late July/early August.

Once my WIP Life Will Turn Around is finished, my attention will be fully focused on the sequel, and that means I'll be able to post and update regularly.

Thank you if you're still interested and are going to read the sequel, and once again, I'm sorry for the amount of time it's taken.

If you haven't done so already, add me to your author alerts so you'll be alerted when the sequel posts. I'll put up another A.N. with the title once I think of a fitting one and post the first chapter.

If you have any questions PM me, or send me a message on fb. 'Nicia VA-ff' is my fanfic account on there.

Also, check out our facebook group '**Juliet had it easy; she never had to kill Romeo**.' It's a group for friendly discussion and sharing between lovers of the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead since there are no others here on facebook for this fabulous series!

If you're an author, feel free to post links to your profile and/or your VA fics as well as teasers for upcoming chapters in your fics. If you're a reader (or an author) feel free to also post up links to fics you'd like to recommend other VA fans read (and make sure to add them to the corresponding docs). This group is also a place to talk about the books.

Thank you, and hopefully this sequel will be up soon! I hope you'll read it when it posts.

Nicia. xx


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